The ambitious new vampire movie Sinners represents the fifth collaboration between Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, and it's already cemented itself as one of the five movies starring the celebrated actor that I could watch on repeat. Sinners sees Jordan shine in dual roles as the twin brothers Elijah and Elias Moore, known as Smoke and Stack, respectively. The fact that Jordan gives not one but two electric performances in the same movie places him in truly rarified air when it comes to individual accomplishment for an actor. 5r3g1y

It once seemed impossible that any movie in the long-running boxing franchise would top the first Rocky film, but then 2015's Creedcame along and shocked audiences. The first Rocky movie was released in 1976 and was instantly celebrated as an iconic sports film, eventually winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The success of the Sylvester Stallone-led boxing film led to eight more movies in the Rocky/Creed franchise. While many of the Rocky sequels included iconic moments, none of them experienced the same level of acclaim as the first film.

Creed is an outstanding boxing movie, yet I hold it in even higher regard due to how it improved one of my favorite Rocky movies: Rocky IV. When Creed was announced, I was as skeptical as many others were. Given the mix of good and bad Rocky movies over the years, yet another franchise reboot did not overly excite audiences. This can partly be attributed to the Hollywood landscape upon Creed's release, when legacy movie sequels were commonplace, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World to Mad Max: Fury Road.

With Creed III continuing on the franchise, the Rocky opponents throughout the movies have been essential for keeping these stories interesting. With nine entries to date along with the latest Creed III, the Rocky franchise is known for its varying levels of quality. A big factor in what makes these movies great or forgettable is that the heroic boxer the audience is cheering for has a worthwhile foe to step into the ring with. Some Rocky opponents have proved a worthier match than others.

The Creed series has been praised as a worthy successor to the Rocky franchise, recapturing what made the original films so great, but one major character from the Rocky movies was recast in the Creed movies. The Creed films star Michael B. Jordan as Donnie, the estranged son of champion Apollo Creed, as he attempts to live up to his dad’s legendary name. Creed and its sequels have been acclaimed for telling a brand-new story while also honoring the legacy of the existing films. But one key character from the Rocky movies has been recast (with a good reason).

Whereas Sylvester Stallone was always looking for an end point to the Rocky franchise, Michael B. Jordan has proven with his Creed spin-off movies – and his ambitious plans for their future – that the series doesn’t have to end. Stallone earned dual Oscar nominations for writing and starring in Rocky, the quintessential underdog sports movie. Rocky was followed by four direct sequels, a legacy sequel, a spin-off movie, and two sequels to the spin-off movie. The franchise is still going strong half a century later, so there’s no need to call it quits.

Michael B. Jordan's titular character in Creed should have won his first title fight to avoid comparisons with Rocky. It felt like Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa retired at the end of each movie, only for the sequels to concoct another big fight for him. 2006's Rocky Balboa was billed by Stallone as the definitive ending for the saga, but Ryan Coogler's Creed proved there was another story to be told in the Rocky universe. This spinoff introduced Michael B. Jordan's Adonis Creed, the son of Rocky's former rival turned best friend Apollo (Carl Weathers) as he trained to become a professional boxer.

Warning: contains spoilers for Creed: The Next Round #1!The latest boxer to arrive in the Creed series expands the family's connection to Greek mythology. The Creed dynasty are huge names in boxing, with Carl Weathers being introduced in 1976's Rocky sporting the name of the Greek sun god Apollo. Adonis Creed followed in those mythological footsteps, and now, as Amara Creed strikes out on her own, the pantheon expands.

The Rocky and Creed movies are pretty good about sticking to realism, but these 10 moments and story details would have never happened in real-life boxing. Like most movies, the Rocky franchise dramatizes some elements in order to make the films more exciting, heightening some details of the boxing world in order to make the films play better to audiences. While some of these moments are iconic and others are essential to the story, that doesn't make them realistic, with Rocky and Creed's 10 most outlandish moments being well-ed to this day.

Including the three Creedmovies to date, the best fighters in the Rockyseries show the kind of talent seen inside the ring in these movies. The heroes and villains of the Rocky series are some of the most beloved and well-ed characters in cinematic history, with each having their own interesting story and struggle to overcome. With Creed III continuing the franchise, it's time to look back at the boxers of past movies and decide who are the top fighters from the Rocky movieseries.