Ivan Drago (Russian: Иван Драго; portrayed by Dolph Lundgren) is a fictional character in the movie Rocky IV. Dolph Lundgren (born Hans Lundgren, November 3, 1957[1]) is a Swedish actor, director and karateka. ... For the soundtrack to the movie, see Rocky IV (album). ...

Drago is characterized as an extremely tall (2011cm tall, as the real-life man) and powerful amateur boxing champion from the Soviet Union, as well as a former Olympic gold medalist. He is billed as weighing 261 pounds (118 kg, over 18 ½ stone). Drago's reputation is literally that of a superhuman; He wields a punch of 2,550 [[Pound force per square inch|psi]| and is seen receiving injections throughout during the movie (presumably anabolic steroids, though this is never explicitly stated). 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 workout. 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. For other senses of these words, see boxing (disambiguation) or boxer (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Anabolic steroids are a class of natural and synthetic steroid hormones that promote cell growth and division, resulting in growth of muscle tissue and sometimes bone size and strength. ...

Drago's trainers are convinced that he can beat any boxer. Former champion Apollo Creed, now 42 years old, 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 and stripes boxing shorts. 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 barrage of punches in the first round. The Ivan Drago versus Apollo Creed match was an exhibition thus did not count toward either fighters professional record. Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the Rocky (series) of films, initially portrayed as the World Heavyweight Champion. ... Robert Rocky Balboa, Sr. ... Flag ratio: 10:19; nicknames: Stars and Stripes, Old Glory The flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars...

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: in IPA, [jɪˈvan ˈdraɡə] For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ...

Unlike Balboa's self-promoting nemesis from the previous movie, Clubber Lang, Drago is a man of few words, inspired on Evander Holyfield. His wife 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. James Clubber Lang is a character that appeared as Rocky Balboas rival in the 1982 movie Rocky III. He was played by the popular bodyguard to the stars Mr. ...

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. This enrages Drago, who grabs him by the throat, throws him out of the ring and proclaims that he only fights for himself. In the end, he loses against Balboa, his only defeat.

In popular culture

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Because the real life Kilichko Brothers come from the Ukraine they both have been nickanmed Ivan Drago.
• Drago appeared in the Flash game "Ivan Drago: Justice Enforcer" which was made in tribute to the Rocky films. In the game, you play as Ivan Drago (as well as other unlockable characters) and fight crime in the streets, eventually fighting Apollo Creed and Rocky Balboa. Many of Ivan's infamous quotes from the Rocky IV movie are used in the game.
• 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.