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Adonis Johnson vs Leo Sporino, billed as Hollywood Johnson vs The Lion, was a local boxing match held at the Temple, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The sparring lasted two rounds that surprisingly ended with newcomer Johnson winning the fight with a KO. After the fight, leaks came out of revelation that Adonis was actually the son of the late Former Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed.

Background[]

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Rocky Balboa trains Adonis Johnson

Adonis Johnson arrived in Philadelphia to seek training from the retired boxing legend Rocky Balboa. When Balboa agreed, he trained him at his old mentor's gym Mighty Mick's Gym. Leo Sporino was the #4 ranked Light Heavyweight boxer in the world and had generated a record of 17-0, with 12 KOS. He was being trained out of Mighty Mick's Gym by his father Pete Sporino. Balboa trains Adonis for a few weeks as Pete watches on, becoming more intrigued by the bond they're forming. Pete makes a proposal to Balboa, Adonis vs. Leo, Pete states that it would be a good "warm-up" fight for Leo. Balboa is reluctant at first but is quickly convinced by Adonis and they accept.

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Pete confronts Rocky on Adonis's parentage

Prior to his fight with Adonis, Leo was scheduled to fight on the Super-Fight undercard between the #2 ranked Pound for Pound fighter in the world and WBA, WBC, and The Ring Heavyweight Champion Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler, and IBF, WBO, The Ring, and lineal Light Heavyweight Champion "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, the #1 ranked Pound for Pound fighter in the world.

But the bout was cancelled after Conlan broke Wheeler's jaw at the weigh in, resulting in Leo, alongside many others, losing a fight opportunity worth millions. On the day of the fight, Pete confronted Rocky, not pleased to have uncovered through calls to LA that Donnie is a Creed, and Rocky reportedly asked him to keep it quiet.

The Fight[]

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Sporino is knocked out down

Leo was fairly in control of the first round, dictating the pace of the fight and controlling it. He landed the majority of his strikes and cut Adonis above the eye. He landed a high amount of body shots and connected with some nice combos. Leo came out in the second round pampering to the crowd, feeling confident that he was about to end the fight. Leo held control of the first portion of the second round, landing strikes and controlling the pace, but he was hit with a huge counter right hook, followed up with an uppercut that dropped him to the mat. Leo wouldn't beat the 10 count and suffered the first loss of his career.

Aftermath[]

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Sport commentators talk about Adonis' relation to Apollo

After Adonis wins the fight in a 2nd-round KO, Sporino's father anonymously alerts the media of Adonis' parentage. With word coming out that Adonis was actually a Creed, the whole world was surprised by the revelation that there was another boxer with Creed blood in them. Light Heavyweight Champion "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, due to gun charges, is heading to prison, which will effectively end his career, is gearing up for his final fight against Danny "Stuntman" Wheeler. After Conlan breaks Wheeler's jaw at the weigh-in for their title fight, the fight is cancelled, Conlan is forced to pay millions in legal fees, and it doesn't seem like he will have the opportunity to have one last big fight before he is sent off to prison. Conlan's manager, Tommy Holiday, learns about Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed and urges Conlan to take the fight, telling him that it would make millions because of the Creed name. Conlan is against it, but reluctantly agrees.

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