The big boys at Maxim Mag have caught up with Sly, who's touring to promote his upcoming boxing reality show "The Contender". The whole experience left the actor with a little bit of nostalgia for his 5-movie franchise.

Commenting on the unexplored reality behind boxing, Stallone remembers his own reality, while filming Rocky.

"Carl Weathers broke my nose and my ribs in Rocky II. But the worst was Dolph Lundgren. I'd seen the Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns fight where these two consummate pros just lost it and went at each other with reckless abandon. So I thought Rocky and this Russian character would hate each other so much that they'd attack like two insane amateurs. I said, 'OK, Dolph, I want you to come out and attempt to annihilate me.' And he did. [laughs] He hit me and hit me and hit me-I had a hard time yelling 'cut' with my mouthpiece clutched somewhere in the middle of my throat."

Of course, the experience did fuel rumours about a new Rocky chapter. For the actor, it isn't anything new to think about or consider.

"I'm always fired up to make another Rocky. It dawned on me a long time ago that I have this character who's almost autobiographical, so his story can keep going. The character can go places where the actor is in his life. The movies almost become documentaries."

And where there's franchise, there's also money. What would work for Rocky would also work for Stallone's other landmark character, John Rambo. On the eve of the big 6, though, his increasing self-consciousness would be quite apparent in a fourth Rambo movie.

"Of course, it won't be what you think - not the same Rambo with the headband," cautions Sly. "We're working on an interesting premise where Rambo is brought back from living on a ranch somewhere, and because of his skills in jungle warfare and survival, he's asked to lead a young group in a search-and-rescue mission. They can't believe this decrepit guy is a war hero, but when their technology fails, they see where Rambo excels."

Some may criticize his whole career, but the man looks back with some pride. If he could erase something, tough, it wouldn't be his two tough guys, but the choices he made to get away from them.

"A few of the comedies…It's hard to make such a drastic change when you're identified with a certain character or genre. Some guys have amazing versatility and can move around more-guys like Tom Hanks, Russell Crowe, Paul Newman. But other fellas…their baggage arrives 10 minutes before they do. People go, 'Oh! It's Rocky!' Let me put it this way: You won't see Sylvester Stallone starring in Notting Hill 2."

We won't? Who wouldn't dig a love scene between Julia and Sly?…