Sylvester Stallone Offers Emotional Tribute To Fellow "Rocky" Star Carl Weathers

Get your Kleenex boxes out. Sylvester Stallone has officially offered a tribute in the wake of Carl Weathers’ death. Weather passed away earlier this week in his sleep at the age of 76.

Stallone and Weathers joined forces in the iconic "Rocky" movie series. Before playing the part of Apollo Creed, Stallone had not seen Weathers in action on set.

But when he did, he immediately knew he would be working with a star.

"Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success, everything about it. I give him incredible credit and kudos because when he walked into that room, and I saw him for the first time, I saw greatness, but I didn’t realize how great," Stallone said. He was standing in front of a mural that depicted their fight at the end of Episode III.

Creed was the villain in the first two movies, and Rocky’s close friend in the next two. Episodes I and II were released in 1976 and 1979, and III and IV were released in 1982 and 1985. Weathers’ character died at the hands of Russian Ivan Drago in an iconic fight in Rocky IV.

Whether Creed was the villain, Rocky’s trainer, or a martyr in the ring during the series, Weathers perfectly encapsulated the ultimate foil character to Stallone’s Rocky Balboa.

He was so perfect, in fact, that many fans make the reasonable argument that the "Rocky" series wouldn’t have been nearly as successful if not for Weathers. That’s a notion Stallone himself agrees with.

"I never could have accomplished what we did with ‘Rocky’ without him. He was absolutely brilliant. His voice, his size, his power, his athletic ability, but more importantly, his heart, his soul. It's a horrible loss," Stallone said, as he choked up. "He was magic. And I was so fortunate to be part of his life. So Apollo, keep punching."

It doesn’t get any more sincere or heartfelt than that. Weathers will be missed, both by Rocky fans and Rocky himself.

Sylvester Stallone and Carl Weathers on set of the film 'Rocky', 1976. (Photo by United Artists/Getty Images)

Which Rocky movie was your favorite, and why was it Rocky IV? Email your thoughts to john.simmons@outkick.com and follow him on X: @JohnSimmonsJr7,