Tony "Duke" Evers
| Tony "Duke" Evers | |
|---|---|
| Rocky character | |
| First appearance | Rocky |
| Last appearance | Rocky Balboa |
| Portrayed by | Tony Burton |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Duke |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Professional boxing trainer (formerly professional boxer) |
Tony "Duke" Evers is a fictional character from the Rocky films, initially portrayed as the manager/trainer to Apollo Creed before eventually becoming the manager to Rocky Balboa. He was portrayed by Tony Burton and is one of only four characters (along with Rocky, Paulie Pennino, and Stu Nahan) to have been featured in the original six Rocky films.
Tony "Duke" Evers was first introduced in the 1976 Oscar-winning film Rocky as the trainer to the charismatic World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed. A planned Bicentennial fight against number one contender Mac Lee Green was scheduled for January 1, 1976, which Apollo gladly hypes whenever someone places a microphone in front of him. However, Green hurts his left hand in training, and when none of the other top ranked contenders, such as Ernie Roman and Buddy Shaw, step up to face the champion, Creed responds with a novelty promotion that will generate huge publicity. He will offer an anonymous local fighter an opportunity to battle Creed for the title, in a match on New Year's Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Creed eventually selects Rocky Balboa, then an unknown club fighter, a shot at the championship. While Creed dismissed Rocky as a serious threat, Tony appeared to be the only member of Creed's staff who considered Balboa to be a legitimate threat, as he cautioned Creed of his vulnerability against southpaw opponents. Tony also expressed concern while closely observing Rocky's meat freezer sparring session at his friend Paulie's meat factory, which was broadcast on an edition of the evening news, saying to Creed, "Hey champ, you ought to come here and take a look at this kid you're gonna' fight, he looks like he means business". "Yeah, Yeah, I mean business, too. Shirley, go get me some more coffee." Creed replied in a casual and nonchalant tone as he and his entourage focused on business matters from another room. It is during this film where it is learned that Tony is more than just Apollo's trainer, but that they also have a long history and friendship dating back years. Prior to the final round of Creed's title defense against Balboa, Tony unsuccessfully urges Creed to let him stop the fight, and thus forfeit the championship, because he is worried for Apollo's health after it is revealed that he is bleeding internally as a result of Balboa's heavy body shots.
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