Rocky, Rocky and Apollo's ''CASANOVA'' Boxing Gloves

replica movie prop

The sleeper hit of 1976, (and a surprise Best Picture winner), this rousing underdog story kick-started the career of writer, director and actor Sylvester Stallone, launched a six-film franchise, and inspired millions of people with dreams of glory. The boxing gloves that were used in the famous bout at the end of the movie were made by a company called “Casanova”. Stallone wrote in The Official Rocky Scrapbook that he and actor Carl Weathers were in real pain on the day that the “big fight” was filmed because of the damage that was inflicted on the both of them by the Casanova gloves that they wore. “Casanova gloves”, explained Stallone, “were illegal in the U.S., but the filmmakers decided to use them because of their sleek appearance”. “Reyes” brand boxing gloves were used in the highly anticipated sequel ROCKY II, and it’s interesting to note that while Stallone later went on to donate the screen-used Reyes gloves to the Smithsonian, the pair of Casanova gloves that he wore in the original ROCKY film clearly had a strong sentimental appeal for him, and have remained in his private collection for over 35 years.