How many fights did the Soviet southpaw win? After vanquishing Apollo Creed and facing Rocky in the ring, Ivan Drago’s career took a turn.
How many fights did Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) win and lose in the Rocky saga? The fearsome Soviet fighter first appeared on the world stage in Rocky IV (1985), where he infamously killed Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in an exhibition match. When the titular hero Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) decides to avenge his friend, the ensuing fight becomes both a personal vendetta and an embodiment of Cold War relations. After the American side emerges victorious, Drago returns in disgrace to his home country and wouldn’t be seen again until the events of Creed II. So what transpired between films, and how does that impact Ivan’s professional record?
An American classic, Rocky Balboa represents the prototypical underdog.
In Rocky, which is based on real-life boxer Chuck Wepner, he bravely fights the then-champion Apollo Creed in spite of his humble origins, eventually dethroning and befriending Creed in Rocky II. By the time of the events of Rocky IV, he is such an American icon that the Soviet Union seeks to strike a blow against the States by sending a champion of their own to defeat him. After scouring the Russian amateur scene, they handpick Ivan Drago: a man of few words, but many wins — he enters the exhibition vs. Creed (with a reported 100-0-0 amateur record according to the Rocky Legends video game). Rocky is ultimately victorious over the machine of a man, beginning Drago’s professional record at an unsightly 0-1, and sending him home in disgrace to try and resurrect his career.
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Ivan Drago’s professional record stands at 31-1-0. After Drago lost to Balboa, he was exiled to Ukraine, where he garnered an impressive 31 wins — all by knockout. The 100-0-0 record he held ahead of coming to America (also all by knockout) doesn’t count towards his professional record since they were amateur fights, and his defeat of Apollo Creed is similarly discounted because it was an exhibition. Despite his impressive streak following the Balboa loss, he was never again able to contend for the title, as the besmirched Drago name wasn’t attractive to promoters. In the end, he retired and channeled his frustration into raising his son to be an even more formidable boxer than even himself.
It stands to reason Drago accumulated his near-perfect history of knockouts because of doping. Though his then-wife Ludmilla, who often speaks on behalf of her husband in Rocky IV, dismisses the allegations, it’s clearly demonstrated the Soviets spared no expense in preparing their champion for a conflict with such important political implications. After all, the Rocky films thrive on a clear moral dichotomy and underdog narrative. And what more to make Rocky the underdog than to give his opponent every unethical advantage?
Retired, and with his professional record solidified at 31-1-0 (31 KO),
Ivan turned his efforts towards training his son Viktor to restore the Drago name by fighting Apollo’s son Adonis in Creed II. Having raised Viktor himself after Ludmilla divorced him as a result of losing to Balboa, Ivan molds Viktor into a hate-fueled image of his former self, producing a similarly thorough KO ratio, but ultimately finding forgiveness and humanity in his relationship with his son and making peace with his career. In the end, that’s what the Rocky movies are all about: vanquishing demons. While Drago’s record proves him a strong opponent, his most formidable challenger was his own inner turmoil.