<P> With his character's death, Carl Weathers departed the franchise after Rocky IV . In Rocky V, the fifth installment of the series, after Rocky Balboa defeated Ivan Drago, Apollo's trainer Duke congratulated Rocky by showing that he made everyone proud, especially for Apollo by holding up his red, white, and blue trunks . Apollo was thereafter only mentioned briefly in past tenses, including a flashback scene between Mickey and Rocky before Balboa's first fight with Creed where Mickey states, "Apollo won't know what hit him ." Rocky's pupil Tommy Gunn also claimed to have been a fan of Rocky since his first fight with Apollo . Tommy was eventually allowed to wear Creed's trunks . There was a poster of Apollo and Rocky during the events of Rocky II in Rocky Jr's bedroom before the Balboas went bankrupt . During Tommy's fight with Union Cane, Rocky commented that it was like his own first fight with Apollo . Later, during Rocky's street fight with Tommy, he began to hallucinate and saw images of Apollo's death at the hands of Drago, believing that he was about to suffer the same fate . However, a vision of Mickey telling him to get up gave Rocky the strength to win the street fight . </P> <P> In the sixth installment of the Rocky franchise, Rocky is seen paying tribute to Apollo by telling customers at his restaurant stories about his friendship and fights with him . In a deleted scene when Rocky wakes up, Rocky sees Paulie sleeping and Rocky sees a photo of his first fight with Apollo but his face is censored and Rocky's face is covered by a scrap of paper with Paulie's head . During the commentary before the Rocky vs Mason Dixon fight, a montage of Rocky's opponents is shown which excludes his two fights against Apollo . </P> <P> In the seventh installment, it has been revealed that Creed had an affair sometime before his death, and from that, Adonis Johnson Creed was born . After his biological mother's death in the late' 90s, Apollo's widow, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad), adopts him . At a young age, not only does he possess the boxing skills of his father, but also his fiery temper . Years later, presumed to be a well - educated young man, Adonis (Michael B. Jordan) leaves his job to pursue a full - time career in boxing . He first seeks tutelage from Duke's son, "Lil' Duke" (Wood Harris), who runs the Delphi Boxing Academy . Duke refuses to work with Adonis to ensure his safety . Adonis, to his mother's dismay, moves to Philadelphia to seek out Rocky . While meeting up at Adrian's, Rocky is surprised when Adonis mentions a third fight between him and Apollo that happened behind closed doors, presenting himself to be Apollo's son . Rocky compliments his father's boxing ability and reveals that Apollo won their third match . </P> <P> When the word got out that Adonis is Apollo's illegitimate son, the media heavily publicized the story of his infidelity, which catches the eye of the trainer for the reigning light - heavyweight champion, "Pretty" Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew). Both parties would want the fight to happen, however, on the condition that Adonis would assume his actual name instead of his mother's last name, Johnson, to which he agrees, similar to Apollo's desire to select Rocky due to his nickname: "The Italian Stallion". Leading up to the fight, Rocky has been diagnosed with cancer, which greatly impacts Adonis' behavior, including being incarcerated for the night after a brawl at a club . While Rocky visits him in jail, Adonis angrily blames him for his father's death, while Rocky tries to calm him down and understand Apollo, who isn't there to defend himself . After getting his mind straight, Adonis makes a pact with Rocky that they would both fight their respective battles together . </P>

Who won third fight between rocky and apollo