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TheRockyfranchise is one wild roller coaster . While the series experienced its ups and downs , so too has its antagonist . Whether it ’s a juiced up Russian or the greatest world champ to ever exist , we can at least say theSylvester Stallone ’s “ Italian Stallion ” has squared up against some interesting boxer .
With all of that say , we ’ve carry the liberty of range each of Rocky Balboa ’s foes .
Tommy “The Machine” Gunn
Tommy Gunn ( dally by Tommy Morrison in 1990 ) was taken under Balboa ’s wing inRocky V. However , living in the shadow of one of the most dear boxing admirer in the city that made him famous is no easy task . let out under the press , Gunn leave Balboa ’s side to be manage by George Washington Crane ( Richard Grant ) and rejected any influence his former trainer had on him . This somehow result to a street fight where a retired Balboa with Einstein equipment casualty won decisively , then assaulted Crane for some reason .
On paper , Gunn sounds like a pretty smashing baddie , butRocky V’sideas were never to the full realize , and this special fighter was probably hurt the worst as a result .
Thunderlips
Aside from being remembered for one of the grossest name in movie theatre , Thunderlips is really only known for being played byHulk Hogan . Though , if you were n’t a wrestling devotee in the 1980s , we do n’t really blame you for forgetting this part .
Thunderlips makes an visual aspect inRocky III , where he absolutely destroys Balboa during a charity fight . While the conception of a wrestler vs a boxer is almost universally a regretful melodic theme , Thunderlips put the crew in danger and almost dispatch Balboa by throw him into the audience . Once everything was say and done , the jack up up grappler said he was just doing it for the show and fill some photos with the Italian Stallion , but when look back , he was just kind of a dork for no understanding .
Ivan Drago
He shoot down Apollo !
outdoors of that , Ivan Drago ( played byDolph Lundgren ) would believably be the last on this lean . But that , desegregate with his little lines of “ if he dies , he dies , ” and “ I must break you , ” make the Russian boxer a truly ugly scoundrel . With all that said , there is something to him being a puppet for the USSR , and he does sort of redeem himself near the end of the net fight . Still , there is n’t much to Drago as a fiber inRocky IV .
He ’s big , he does steroids , and he ’s a commie . It would have been squeamish to know a little more about him , but given that this entry was free at the height of the Cold War , it ’s not surprising to see why he was treated like a lab colossus more than a human . At least we got some fun preparation montages !
Mason “The Line” Dixon
Antonio Tarver ’s Mason Dixon is a really interesting part in 2006’sRocky Balboa . As a admirer in an era of not - so - great - bagger , Dixon becomes savage when a pretense advise The Italian Stallion would win in a combat . Capitalizing on the ballyhoo of said sim - fight , Dixon ’s showman convince the title-holder and Rocky to square up up in Las Vegas .
Sure , the premise of the motion picture is sort of cheesy , but its execution of instrument is top - nick , and a slew of that is thanks to the complexness of Dixon ’s character .
James “Clubber” Lang
Mr. Tplaying the crowing bad in any movie sounds comedic in 2019 , but in 1982 , he was the biggest threat Rocky Balboa ever faced . As a hungry up - and - comer , Lang was feed up of being passed over for opportunities at the claim , and he made sure to call out Balboa during a retreat ceremony .
This led to an eventual title peer , but before that could happen , the challenger caused a scuffle outside of the whizz ’s dressing way , accidentally causing Balboa ’s manager , Mickey Goldmill ( Burgess Meredith ) , to get a heart attack and die . The emotional weight was too much for Balboa , causing him to turn a loss the fight . Yet , Lang was too much of an opponent for Rocky to just simply get a replay . Balboa had to enlist the services of Apollo Creed to help bring his scrap style into the 1980s , and it work .
What makes Lang such an endearing role is that his motivations are not necessarily wrong , and the montages highlighting both Balboa ’s and Clubber ’s workouts show that he ’s driven to bring home the bacon , while Rocky was caught up in being a fame .
All in all , Lang is a great , compelling character that is the antithesis to what Balboa has become by the third movie . What more could we ask for ?
Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed ( playedCarl Weathers ) was Rocky ’s first adversary , but he was also his best . The champion of the humankind gave Balboa a guessing at the title and did n’t take him seriously enough . This arrogance led to an epic pugilism match that find the Italian Stallion go the distance against the best boxer in the macrocosm at the time . Creed did n’t take too kindly to the fallout of say match and blarney Rocky into another bout , eventually losing after another classic .
What stimulate him such an interesting character is his more nuanced family relationship with Balboa . Throughout the first movie , Creed is seen as an arrogant champion who is more interested in promoting his fight than really win , however , a degree of sportsmanship is shown at the beginning of the second movie when the two have a meat to heart in a Philadelphia hospital . While he condescend to some name - calling in the media , by the end ofRocky II , it ’s sluttish to see that both Creed and Balboa have a bit of a complex kinship . This leads to a partnership inRocky III , that attend Rocky ’s former adversary train him to help him take down Clubber Lang , who was a piddling less than respectful to the former champion .
He ’s the only person away from the titular character to show that sort of change , and because of that , he is our favored opponent of Rocky Balboa .
NEXT:THE BEST MOVIES INSPIRED BY ROCKY
