Ivan Drago
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ivan Drago | |
 |
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| Statistics | |
|---|---|
| Real name | Ivan Drago |
| Nickname(s) | The Siberian Bull, Death from Above, The Siberian Express |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Birth date | January 8, 1963 |
| Birth place | Moscow |
| Stance | {{{style}}} |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | Amateur – 100
|
| Wins | Amateur – 100
|
| Wins by KO | {{{KO}}} |
| Losses | Amateur – 0
|
| Draws | Amateur – 0
|
| No contests | 0 |
Ivan Drago (Russian: Иван Драго; portrayed by Dolph Lundgren, from Sweden) is a fictional character in the movie Rocky IV (1985).
[edit] Fictional biography
Drago is characterized as a tall (215 cm, as the real-life man) and powerful amateur boxing champion from the Soviet Union, as well as a former Olympic gold medalist, in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He is billed as weighing 261 pounds (118 kg, over 18 ½ stone). Drago's reputation is literally that of a superman; he wields an average punch of 1850 psi and is seen receiving injections throughout during the movie (presumably anabolic steroids, though this is never explicitly stated; Lundgren would state during an episode of VH1's I Love the '80s that Drago was "definitely a juicer"). He is merciless, speaks little, and is a fearsome opponent.
Drago is carefully fitted and trained to be a true killing machine, with his heart rate and bodily strength being measured via computers during his workouts. This futuristic and highly-artificial form of training is shown to contrast with Rocky's rugged, old-fashioned style of lifting stones and chopping wood in the bitter cold mountains.
Drago's trainers are convinced that he can beat any boxer. Former champion Apollo Creed, now 39 years old (he was 34 when he was defeated by Rocky), comes out of retirement to challenge Drago to an exhibition match, promoted by Rocky Balboa. Creed arrives in the ring wearing his signature "colors," his Stars & Stripes boxing shorts to the song "Living in America" upon a huge stage that is lowered into the ring. The entrance is very typical of Apollo's confident attitude to life. Before the match begins, Drago ominously mutters, "You will lose." In this fight, Drago (22 years old) overpowers Creed to such an extent that he kills him after landing a savage barrage of punches in the second round, as Drago put it in an interview following the match as Creed was knocked out; "If he dies...he dies." (Drago versus Creed match was an exhibition and thus did not count toward either fighter's professional record).
To avenge Creed's death, Balboa travels to the Soviet Union to fight Drago on his home turf in Moscow. Rocky wears Apollo's colors to honor him during the fight. At the beginning of the fight in Moscow, the announcer uses the Russian pronunciation of Drago's name: IPA: [ɪˈvan ˈdraɡə]. In fact the surname Drago is not characteristic for Russian onomastics, if attested ever at all. The rare Russian surnames in -ago are perhaps known in the West after Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, but they are formed from adjective stems (e. g. Zhiv-ago from zhiv-oy 'alive')[1], and from dragoy (Church Slavonic for 'dear') such a form is impossible.
Unlike Balboa's self-promoting nemesis from the previous movie, Clubber Lang, Drago is a man of few words. Ludmilla, his wife as well as another sportsman (she has a gold medal in swimming), always speaks for him during interviews. He is portrayed as very cold-hearted when he comments on Apollo Creed's death: "If he dies, he dies." He speaks directly to Rocky on only two occasions, both on the night of their fight: he says "I must break you," before the match begins, and "to the end," right before the final round.
Because his training is sponsored by the Soviet government and his arrival in America is heavily promoted by the Soviets, Drago seemingly fights for the glory of his country. However, near the end of his fight with Rocky, Drago's promoter - a Soviet official- insults him, saying he is disgracing the Soviet Union by allowing an American to fight so admirably against one of the Soviet Union's national heroes on Soviet soil. The enraged Drago grabs him by the throat, throws him out of the ring and proclaims he only fights for himself. In the end, Drago is knocked out by Balboa in the dying moments of the fifteenth and final round.
[edit] In popular culture
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Real-life Ukrainian boxing brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko were both nicknamed Ivan Drago due to their Eastern European roots.
- In the "Brian Goes Back to College" episode of Family Guy, Brian is training in the arctic weather and shouts out "Drago!". This is a reference to Rocky IV when Rocky climbs a mountain and shouts out Drago's name. It also includes the song "Hearts on Fire" in the background, one of the songs from Rocky IV.
- In the Stanny Slickers II: The Legend of Ollie's Gold episode of American Dad!, Stan sings a song about Ollie North and you see Uncle Sam and Ivan Drago from Rocky IV. They represent their respective countries as well.
[edit] References
- ^ B. O. Unbegaun, "Russian Surnames", Oxford, 1972, Part II, chapter VII, section II a) - Surnames in genitive singular
| Preceded by Clubber Lang |
Rocky Balboa's Main Opponent | Succeeded by Tommy Gunn |
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