Visibly Emotional Sylvester Stallone Pays Tribute to Carl Weathers: ‘Apollo, Keep Punching’

As the rest of Hollywood paid tribute to Carl Weathers, who died Friday at 76, a visibly emotional Sylvester Stallone appeared on video to eulogize his late co-star.

Standing in front of a stylized painting of the two from the final scene of Rocky III, Stallone called Weathers “magic” and said that “we lost a legend yesterday.”

A choked up Stallone said, “Hello everyone. Today is an incredibly sad day for me. I’m so torn up I can’t even tell you because Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success… everything about it.

“I give him incredible credit …. 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. 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.”

Fans responded by posting gifs of the two from the movie, such as their famous training scenes from Rocky III, as well as their condolences.

In the Rocky films, Weathers played Apollo Creed, who is Rocky Balboa’s friend, coach, and rival through most of the series. Weathers’ vibrant energy contrasts with Stallone’s taciturn focus, forming the emotional core of much of the franchise.

Apart from Stallone, other stars including Arnold Schwarzenneger, Adam Sandler, and Austin Creed offered eulogies to Weather, who his family said died peacefully in his sleep. Stallone called Weathers’ death “a horrible loss.”

“I’m standing here in front of this painting because it was probably the last moment we were ever in the ring together and I’ll never forget it,” Stallone said. “He was magic, and I was so fortunate to be part of his life. So Apollo, keep punching.”

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.