Before Jake Paul turned the spotlight on celebrity boxing, Frank Stallone was already lacing up gloves and stepping into the ring. Sylvester Stallone may have written the book on cinematic boxing glory, but his younger brother actually did the real thing — and he didn’t just show up, he won.
This republished article from 1978 proves that boxing wasn’t just movie magic for the Stallones — it ran in their blood.
A Childhood Obsession with Boxing
Sylvester Stallone became Hollywood’s greatest boxing hero, but his brother decided to try the real thing.
Frank Stallone lived out his brother’s movie, Rocky, for real when he trained for a professional match – and won.
“I was always a bug on boxing,” he explained. “When I was 10 years old, I went through a big Jack Dempsey phase, complete to shaving the sides of my head to look like Dempsey.
“Then when Sly first started work on Rocky, I used to fool around with him in the gym. When the fight scenes were finished he gave me all the equipment. Suddenly I was a latent boxer with all this rich kid’s gear.”
Frank Trains Like Rocky for the Real Thing
At 27 Frank, who recently recorded an album titled “Valentine”, spent two months living the life of the movie’s anti-hero Rocky while training for his first professional fight.
“Everybody thought I was crazy,” he said. “My brother called me every day and tried to make me forget about the whole thing, but there was no way that I would.”
Stepping into the Ring
Frank made his boxing debut at Steinhert High gym in Hamilton, Pennsylvania, against 20-year-old high school senior Lee Daniels.
His training paid off. Jabbing and hooking, he devastated his 160 lb. opponent in less than two minutes of the first round. Then, despite the back-slapping and admiration, he announced that he was hanging up his gloves.
Why He Walked Away After Just One Fight
“It’s out of my system,” he said. “To understand why, you’d have to get into the ring. It was a very frightening experience. Once you’re out there you forget everything that you’ve been taught in the gym. I kept thinking I wish the bell would ring so I could go to my corner, clear my head and remember what I was supposed to be doing.”
But Frank insisted that he knew there was no way he was going to lose.
“Absolutely no way,” said Rocky’s younger brother proudly.
Now Frank is not so sure about his future. He is still interested in singing and perhaps an occasional movie part.
“My brother has written some parts for me in his next two movies, so I hope something will come of that,” he said.
