Which villain in the Rocky universe would you not want to meet in a dark alley? Sylvester Stallone created Rocky Balboa, an underdog boxer who finds a way to win the ultimate prize in the ring: the Heavyweight champion of the world belt. In the Rocky series he made six movies and fought 5 villains. He fought Apollo Creed twice. Then Rocky became the trainer for Apollo’s son Adonis, who was played by actor Michael B. Jordan in Creed. The three movies about Creed’s son means he faces three villains. We have 8 total villains. Who was the scariest of them all? Who was the least scary of them all? We will rank all 8. Starting with the least scary at number 8 to the villain we would not do well meeting them in a dark alley.
#8. Mason “The Line” Dixon
Mason “the line” Dixon was the fighter in the last Rocky movie for right now, Rocky Balboa. He was played by actor Antonio Tarver. In the movie, Dixon was the Heavyweight Champion of the World. While Rocky was retired. Dixon challenges Rocky who retired from the sport of boxing, while running a restaurant and grieving the lost of his wife Adrian. Adrian was played by actress Talia Shire. Dixon makes this challenge because he felt disrespected as everyone still praises Rocky for what he did back then and anything “the line” did in the ring in present times. Dixon got his wish for the fight with Rocky who was out of shape. He won by split decision that went 10 rounds in a exhibition match. That’s egg on your face. Like stealing candy from a baby, this fight should have been for Dixon. The old man with the wisdom beat up the punk even though it does go down as a win for Rock, he still taught the guy a lesson who’s half his age.
#7. “Pretty” Ricky Conlan
In the first Creed movie, the villain was actually a boxer who played “Pretty” Ricky Conlan. Tony Bellew made Conlan that boxer who talks trash saying Adonis is not a real Creed. By challenging him to fight making comments like Adonis would not live up to the Creed name. It was the last fight for “Pretty” who would have to serve out a prison sentence after the match and then retire from boxing. He went out with a win. It was a decision that favored Ricky Conlan, who was shocked at how good Apollo’s son did in their first meeting. Because Adonis was better than expected and showed heart in the first match up. Being trained by Rocky gave him that heart of desire to go the distance. Adonis would get his revenge in the rematch with “Pretty” Ricky. After Conlan was released from jail, the rematch went in favor of Adonis.
Guys named “Pretty” in jail usually don’t get much yard time to box as they are too busy with other activities. I don’t see jail giving “Pretty” the benefit of coming back to the ring like a caged animal. Guys that trash talk are more talk than show.
#6. Apollo Creed
The late Carl Weathers portrayed Apollo Creed in the ring and he was sculptured like a mean lean wrecking machine. After fighting Rocky two times, Creed was never the same boxer. He was more a flashy boxer that loved the spotlight with all his nicknames. The Count of Monte Fisto, The Dancing Destroyer, The King of Sting, The Master of Disaster, The One and Only, The Prince of Punch and the Thane of Pain. Muhammad Ali was that type of guy who floated like a butterfly & could sting like a bee. Apollo helped Rocky get the eye of the tiger back, but Creed never got it back as he would get killed in the ring by the Russian Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. He was all about the showmanship dancing to Living in America with some of the best introductions ever, than being a wrecking machine. Before the Rocky fights I have to believe he was King of Sting at some point. Before he faced Rocky. He was definitely one of my favorite characters in the Rocky movies. He became an ally for Rocky as well.
#5.Viktor Drago
Viktor Drago is the son of Ivan Drago, the Russian boxer who killed Apollo Creed in the ring in Rocky IV. In Creed II, Adonis who is the son of Apollo, fights the son of the father that killed his father in the ring. Viktor Drago is played by actor Florian Munteanu. Ivan has trained his son in the country of Ukraine probably due to the embarrassment of losing to Rocky. Then Adonis is being trained by Rocky Balboa as family secrets are spilled in this reunion of sort. The pressure is on Viktor to seek his father’s revenge to challenge Adonis. The problem for Viktor is he has mommy issues as she left them after the loss. Then Viktor has to deal with his father’s legacy while learning what his own true identity is. Ivan thinks if Viktor can win that fight against Adonis, it could earn himself credibility back in the motherland of Russia. It may get his wife back at the same time.
Ivan Drago’s wife is played by actress Brigitte Nielsen who plays a part where she is not mother of the year. She is about prestige and power. Viktor looks like a guy that could mess many people up as a fighter. His confusion in life as a character with more than one chip on his shoulder might not be that scary in a dark alley, as his mindset may not be all in on following dad’s footsteps.
#4. Tommy Gunn
Tommy Gunn was in the worst movie of the entire Rocky Universe, which was Rocky V. Tommy Gunn was played by real fighter Tommy Morrison who went on to win the heavyweight title by beating George Foreman. Morrison played a guy that would not give up in his dream of being a great boxer. Tommy Gunn did not give up after Rocky Balboa said no to training him at first. Rocky would eventually train him and Tommy Gunn was on his way in Rocky V to being one of the best boxer in the sport. Gunn had a short fuse and was easily unhinged – two things in a dark alley you would not like to be involved with. Gunn would dump Rocky as his manager and signed with George Washington Duke who was the Don King boxing promoter in the Rocky movies.
Duke wanted to get Rocky out of retirement to fight his new client Tommy Gunn for the huge payday. It was Duke that got Tommy Gunn to the quicker path to land the heavyweight title as Rocky wanted to do it the right way. Tommy Gunn was living in Rocky’s shadow and did not like what the press were saying even when he did finally get the title, girl, and money. He became unhinged at the end and had a street fight with Rocky because the reporters wrote bad stuff about Tommy Gunn. Unhinged and a short fuse is why he is ranked the number 4 villain.
#3. Damian “Dame” Anderson
Damian “Dame” Anderson was played by actor Jonathan Majors. Damian spent 18 years in prison for a fight he was involved in with his friend Adonis. Damian wanted to be a professional fighter just like the son of Apollo. Adonis ran away on the day his friend would be jailed. First 18 years in the slammer with hot feelings, not in a good way. Then hearing your friend is Heavyweight Champion of the World stealing your dream. Then being abandoned by your friend. When Dame was released he still had angry feelings and pretended to be friends with his old pal Adonis. Adonis helped Dame get some training from the boxing gym he owned. Dame still wanted to be a professional fighter and he quickly made headlines beating up on a guy named Felix Chavez and using cheap tactics in the process.. Behind the scenes, he assaulted Viktor Drago who originally was going to fight Chavez. Then finally lashed out against Adonis on television to get him to be the next challenger and slowly take what he thought was his in the first place. Never underestimate a man getting out of jail with a vendetta. I think Dame in a dark alley would use whatever advantage he had or anything you had against your own self.
#2. Ivan Drago
Ivan Drago was played by actor Dolph Lundgren. In Rocky IV, Ivan Drago was the red menacing machine who you think the Russians cooked him up in a lab of some sort. Put him together with performance enhancing drugs. I think you can argue he could easily be the number 1 villain of all in the Rocky Universe. He had the hardest punch ever from a boxer. He killed a man in the ring ending Apollo Creed’s life. Even though losing to Rocky, he pretty much ended his career from aftereffects from their fight.
You have to think he was brainwashed by his own country as whatever he did in the ring was under the microscope. How much money they put into Drago’s training and top equipment to get him to that point. He was owned by the Russia and his wife that just wanted the glamor of life, the money and power in the Russian social circle. He is a huge threat in the dark alley because he has to terminate you or questions would be asked. Punishment could be hazardous to his health.
#1.Clubber Lang
In Rocky III, the Villain was Mister T and he played the character Clubber Lang. The Lang character was a boxer that wanted to put his opponents in the graveyard. If he was not a boxer, he would be a homicidal maniac. He was highly motivated to get what he wanted. He was not scared of anyone as he almost got in a fight with Apollo Creed, who was just in the ring to wave to the crowd. There to shake the fighter’s hand as he was part of the broadcast team.
He stalked Rocky for weeks until they unveiled the statue in Philadelphia where Clubber Lang made his challenge. He trained by himself & then finally got his shot at Balboa. In the first fight he knocked Rocky into tomorrow.
Rocky would lose his manager Mickey on that fight. Mickey was played by Burgess Meredith. After losing Mickey, Rocky wanted to walk away from boxing. He came back with Apollo as his manager and things changed. Even angry men like Clubber Lang have a weakness making them waste all their energy trying to knock out Rocky in one punch. In a dark alley, an angry man like Clubber would pummel you until you are no longer here on earth, and then some more just to get everything out.
The Wild shamrock 