Sly could be a real-life Rocky

Sylvester Stallone was so believable in Rocky that a top boxer keeps forgetting he's not an actual world champion.

The actor is revisiting his most famous character for upcoming movie Creed, which sees Rocky serving as a trainer-and-mentor for youngster Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan).

Gabriel Rosado is a real-life fighter and was involved in the movie too. He had a thrill during the shoot, mostly because he couldn't believe he was coming face-to-face with Rocky on a regular basis.

"Oh yeah, he real down to earth man. He be shadow boxing all the time. He really acts like a fighter, man," Gabriel told TMZ of Sylvester. "And it's funny because when talk to him I gotta catch myself because I call him 'champ'. Every now and then I call him champ because that's the respect of a young fighter when you talk to an older fighter, you always call the older fighter champ. It's a respect thing. And growing up and watching Rocky and stuff, you really feel that he's a fighter. It's like when I see him I don't see him as Stallone... of course I see him as Stallone but you got the image of Rocky all the time. But I think he's used to it. He is Rocky in a sense."

Sylvester wasn't the only actor proving he could pack a punch on set. Michael also showed how much he has to offer in the ring, with Gabriel giving him some words of wisdom to ensure he was believable as a boxer. In fact, it seems the 28-year-old actor could have a backup career in place should the moviemaking business not work out.

"He got in great shape for the movie. Michael can throw down man. If you sleep on him in the street he might put you to sleep. He has some hands on him," Gabriel laughed.