It was all a sham.

Rocky Balboa -- perhaps the most beloved heavyweight champion of our time -- has been caught juicing. And now the question has to be asked; If the "Italian Stallion" was doing it ... then who can we trust is not?

The answer is nobody. In case you have been living under a rock, Rocky (alias Sylvester Stallone), was detained at an airport in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 16 with 48 vials of Human Growth Hormone. Now, the boxing community must brace itself and wait for the repercussions.

Will congress be involved? When did this all begin? If Apollo Creed were still around ... what would he have to say? Would he talk at all? Most importantly, what does this mean for the fighters -- Ivan Drago, Clubber Lang, Tommy Gunn -- that the Rock has left in his wake? Did he cheat to beat them?

One would think Mason Dixon -- the champ -- whom Rock took to his limits the last time out would have something to say. So far, the Dixon camp has been silent, and why is that? Dixon got beat up by a much older Balboa, and that did nothing but add to the argument made by many "experts" that Dixon is one of the weakest heavyweight champions of all time. Perhaps Dixon is taking the high-road, but the out is there. Shouldn't he take advantage of that?

And, shouldn't we have seen this coming? Shouldn't we have seen that Balboa was a very different man when he stepped back into the ring against Dixon? No longer was he the adorable people's champ -- the hero of the blue-collar worker -- that he once was. No, the Rocky Balboa that stepped into the ring with Dixon late last year had been there and done that. The Rocky that stepped into the ring against Dixon was -- dare I say -- Hollywood.

How Rocky ever got cleared to fight in the first place is a mystery. He's old -- 55 -- and what about the brain damage that he supposedly suffered against Gunn? But, even that wasn't as bad as what we saw when Rocky stepped through the curtain and bounced down the aisle to face Dixon.

He should have been stopped short of the ring. It was obvious he was in a slightly-past midlife crisis. His face was swollen -- botoxed to the max -- in such a way that it looked like he warmed up backstage by letting his trainers jab him in the mouth. And, how did we let him get out of the ring -- after slugging away on Dixon like he did in the final rounds -- without questioning how such an old, old man could stand in and hold his own against a much younger fighter.

Before the fight against Dixon there was an obvious change in Balboa. His trainer, Tony "Duke" Evers, had advised him to start "buildin' some hurtin' bombs," and we were all treated to an inside look at Balboa training to get ready for Dixon. Unfortunately, it appears that more than honest to goodness training was used to build those bombs. And, after all the beatings Rock had taken, not one of us questioned how he was able to do the things he was doing. Think about what we know now -- go to your local video store -- and pick up a copy of Rocky Balboa -- his last match -- and you will be asking yourself how we could have been so foolish. But, the answer is very simple.

We didn't question because we wanted to believe. Jesus Rock ... we wanted to believe in you. And now ... now Rock, you have let us all down. The fantasy is over. Our great champion was anything but. Rock, you were a cheater. And, if you cheated ... then how can we ever believe anything we see in athletics is legitimate again?

All these questions, and yet Balboa has remained silent since the incident in Australia. Attempts to contact him have come up empty. There is no listing for Rocky Balboa in any phone book -- there hasn't been for years. He has no representation that could facilitate an interview.

It's as if Rocky Balboa has disappeared, or as if he never existed at all. And, how fitting is that? Maybe the Rocky Balboa we all knew and loved really never did exist at all? Talk to us Rock. What was real and what was fake?

Most importantly -- say it ain't so Rock -- say it ain't so.

T&D Sports Writer Brian Linder can be reached by e-mail at blinder@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5553. Discuss this and other stories online at TheT&D.com.

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