Plot
In Rocky IV, Drago's trainers, Sergei Igor Rimsky (George Rogan) and Manuel Vega (James "Cannonball" Green), along with his wife Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen), are convinced that he can defeat any boxer. Drago enters professional heavyweight boxing in the beginning of the movie, as stated by the press. Former champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), now 42 years old, comes out of retirement to challenge Drago to an exhibition match, promoted by Creed's former rival Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Creed arrives to the ring wearing his signature Stars & Stripes boxing garb to "Living in America," sung by James Brown, upon a huge stage that is lowered into the ring. Before the match begins, Drago ominously mutters "You will lose."
During the fight, Apollo is no match for the Russian fighter. In Apollo's corner, Rocky contemplates whether to throw in the towel and surrender the fight (against Creed's earlier instructions), but instead he decides to hold onto the towel. Defenseless, Apollo continues to absorb blows to the head until Drago finally kills him with a final blow to the head. Drago exhibits no remorse about what happened to the former champion, simply stating in an interview after the fight that "if he dies, he dies."
To avenge Apollo's death, Rocky travels to the Soviet Union to fight Drago on his home turf in Moscow. The fight eventually becomes a long, drawn-out war between Rocky and Drago, and to everyone's shock, Rocky manages to severely damage Drago, and the crowd begins to cheer for Rocky, whereas at the start of the fight, they were booing him. Drago's promoter — a Soviet/German official — insults him, claiming that by allowing an American to fight so admirably on Russian soil, Drago is disgracing the Soviet Union. The enraged Drago grabs him by the throat, throws him out of the ring and proclaims he only fights for himself. Rocky wins by KO in the 15th and final round in a dramatic ending.
In Rocky V, it's revealed that the pain Drago inflicted on Rocky left him with brain damage, causing him to mistake people, see visions and various other things.
According to Rocky: The Ultimate Guide, Ivan Drago wasn't permitted to resume his boxing career after his loss to Rocky Balboa because of the special circumstance that he could not officially turn pro in the USSR. Ivan Drago turned professional after the fall of the Soviet Union and accumulated a record of 31-1 (31 KO) while also winning a portion of the Heavyweight title. He never unified the title or fought the very top contenders (as a pro) because of promotional politics. It is possible that Drago defeated Tommy Gunn for the Heavyweight Championship. Drago seems to have retired the Champion, perhaps due to lack of success. The Heavyweight title may have gone to Mason Dixon's unnamed opponent. His only defeat as a pro or an amateur fighter was at the hands of Rocky Balboa.
Read more about this topic: Ivan Drago
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