It’s odd that the photo is going viral this week — and being covered by media outlets such as People and Daily Mail — considering that the veteran movie star actually posted it a year ago from the set of “Creed II.”

Sylvester Stallone with Cuff and LinkInstagram

Sylvester Stallone, 72, has kept in touch with his two hard-shelled pals from the original “Rocky.”

“”With my original buddies from the first Rocky … CUFF and LINK, now about 44 years old!” Stallone captioned a selfie he posted to Instagram, featuring the two dudes frolicking in a tank.

Yes, the turtles would actually be 45 now — but it doesn’t seem to matter to the Twitterverse.

“Cuff and Link are still alive and this is the happiest news I’ve heard this entire year,” @NLMcbus tweeted Thursday, perhaps in honor of World Turtle Day, which falls on May 23.

The female turtles are living with their “real life” pet store owner, Joseph Marks, who has kept them all these years, according to the website boredpanda.com.

Fans of the enduring boxer franchise will recall how audiences were first introduced to the duo.

“Yo, Adrian,” Rocky says to his date, Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire), during the turtles’ cameo in the first film, circa 1976. Taking the two out of their tank, the title character quips: “These are the exotic animals I was telling you about. These are my friends, Cuff and Link.”

“I sold ’em to ya,” Adrian responds, unimpressed.

And the rest is cinematic history.

Pet turtles are known for their long lifespans, with some living to over 100 years, but perhaps for Cuff and Link, it’s less their genetics and more the dream of the fight.
A scene from the 1976 film “Rocky”