Watch Michael B. Jordan get cold-cocked by a pro boxer in brutal Rocky initiation rite

Sylvester Stallone explains the &quot;dead man walking&quot; initiation rite for Rocky films

(Image credit: The Tonight Show)

Sylvester Stallone explained the "dead man walking" rite of initiation into the Rocky film franchise on Monday's Tonight Show, and it sounds terrible. In the ritual, Stallone said, "you have to get clobbered, usually by a man infinitely stronger and larger." When Jimmy Fallon asked about his worst experience, Stallone said that Dolph Lundgren — who played Stallone's Soviet arch-rival Drago in Rocky IV — sent him to the hospital for four days with his punch to the chest. So when Stallone was filming the new Rocky film, Creed, with actor Michael B. Jordan, Jordan got the "dead man walking" treatment, too, and they filmed it. Watching Jordan get knocked out with a jab to the head is painful to watch — Questlove's expression says it all — but probably nothing like the headache Jordan had when he came to. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.