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  • Rocky pixie

    Consortium11

    Remembering how Rocky Balboa defied the critics to defeat Ivan Drago

    I struggle to see why everyone was so impressed with this performance by Balboa. Yes, the promoters liked to go on (and on) about Drago's amateur record (reportedly 100-1 with 100 stoppages) and the fact he was an Olympic champion, but that was a long time ago. This bout happened in 1985 and Drago was part of the Soviet Boycott of the 1984 Olympics. Thus, his Olympic medal must have come five years earlier during the 1980 Moscow Games – and one only has to look at the list of countries that didn't participate at that tournament to see why Drago's gold has an asterisk by it. Yes, we all know the tragedy of Drago's exhibition bout with Apollo Creed and how terrifyingly good he looked in there before the heartbreaking ending. But let's be clear; Creed was 42 years old and had retired five years before. Let's also note that he was pretty shot by the time he retired – hence why a journeyman gatekeeper like Balboa could have such a close bout with him the first time and shockingly upset him in the rematch. As a side note, considering all the hatred Drago gets for the punishment he inflicted on Creed it seems unfair that Balboa does not get the same; Drago pummelled Creed for one round... Rocky for 30. Let's also remember the bout was an exhibition. It was meant to be a showcase, a fun little event where we could see a badly faded great give an impression of the boxer he used to be. Creed didn't train for a full-on war and wasn't prepared for one. It was in essence a sucker punch by Drago, the equivalent of turning a sparring session into a knife fight. So, once you cut through the hype and ignore the promotional flim-flam, what were we left with? The undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, reinvigorated after avenging his upset loss to the over-rated and under-seasoned crude brawler Clubber Lang against a man who had never fought professionally in his life and won his Olympic gold in the softest of circumstances. And we were meant to be surprised at the result?

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