Current Events > After watching every Rocky movie, I have rank the strongest boxers in order.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Ratings are based on 1-10 scale on the following categories:

Hunger Hunger is a metric specific to the Rockyverse, specifically how badly you want to win.
Power Strength of punches
Technique Technical skill of the sweet science.
Stamina Cardiovascular endurance, as well as the damage taken from each hit.
Heart Ability to turn things around when desperate. Digging down deep and finding the will to win.
Chin Ability get get knocked out via head punch
Speed Fist and foot speed

#1 - Rocky from Rocky 3, second fight with Clubber Lang.
#2 - Apollo Creed from Rocky 2
#3 - Ivan Drago from Rocky 4
T#3 - Rocky from Rocky 4
#4 - Rocky from Rocky 2 * Only upset in the series.
#5 - Apollo from Rocky
T#5 - Rocky from Rocky
#6 - Tommy Gunn
#7 - Clubber Lang
#8 - Rocky from Rocky 5
T-#8 - Rocky from Rocky Balboa
#9 - Mason Dixon
#10 - Rocky from Rocky 3, first Clubber Lang fight
#11 - Rocky from Rocky vs Spider Rico
#12 - Spider Rico

Scores of the top 3:
Rocky / Clubber Fight 2
Hunger 9/10
Power 9/10
Technique 9/10
Stamina 10/10
Heart 10/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 8/10
65/70

Apollo vs Rocky 2
Hunger 8/10
Power 8/10
Technique 10/10
Stamina 10/10
Heart 9/10
Chin 9/10
Speed 10/10
64/70

Drago
Hunger 10/10
Power 10/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 9/10
Heart 9/10
Chin 9/10
Speed 8/10
63/70

Rocky vs Drago
Hunger 10/10
Power 8/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 10/10
Heart 10/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 7/10
63/70

Full ratings available upon request.

Edit - *I have ranked. dammit title.

Came into this topic expecting an underwear joke, not an honest to goodness discussion about the subject matter. What is this madness, TC?

Norman_Smiley posted...

#8 - Rocky from Rocky 5
T-#8 - Rocky from Rocky Balboa
#9 - Mason Dixon
#10 - Rocky from Rocky 3, first Clubber Lang fight

Most of the list is debatable (not due to your list being wrong, but simply due to nothing being absolute certain).

With that said, aint no way that Rocky from the first Clubber fight is losing to brain damaged Rocky or 60+ year old Rocky.

Rocky Clubber fight 1
Hunger 6/10
Power 8/10
Stamina 8/10
Technique 7/10
Heart 4/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 7/10
50/70
Hunger was low due to position in life and how easy it was. Technique has diminished a bit. With Mick getting knocked down, he had no heart. Speed has diminished as well since he hasn't been training that.

Rocky 5 Rocky
Hunger 7/10
Power 8/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 7/10
Heart 9/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 7/10
56/70
He wants to teach Tommy a lesson. His power has maintained. Stamina dropped a bit. Heart isn't at max but still high.

Rocky Balboa
Hunger 7/10
Power 9/10
Technique 6/10
Stamina 8/10
Heart 10/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 6/10
56/70
Exclusively trains power. He's not super hungry by Rocky standards but he still wants to fight and prove himself. Technique has diminished. Stamina is still good but not peak. Heart and chin are all in. Speed has slowed.

Mason Dixon
Hunger 7/10
Power 8/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 8/10
Heart 8/10
Chin 8/10
Speed 8/10
55/70
Mason Dixon is a notably weak champ. He'd lose to any of the main line boxers other than rocky 3 first fight rocky since he's so nerfed there.

Ratings are accurate.

Tag, great fucking topic

Apollo in his fight against Drago is quite weak, too
Hunger 5/10
Power 7/10
Technique 9/10
Stamina 8/10
Heart 7/10
Chin 7/10
Speed 9/10
52/70

What about the creed movies?
i fuckin love Rocky movies!

Damn, you don't think the Rocky that took Drago could beat the one from the Clubber rematch?

Good topic though

TheSuperSilver posted...

Damn, you don't think the Rocky that took Drago could beat the one from the Clubber rematch?

Good topic though

Could clubber beat drago, tho?

What about Creed Junior and Drago Junior?

Rocky has no technique except getting punched in the face a bunch of times. He did learn the concept of dodging in Rocky 3, but then forgot it again by the next movie, presumably because of all the damage caused by getting repeatedly punched in the face.

Kurt_Russel posted...

What about the creed movies?
i fuckin love Rocky movies!

I could go off memory. I haven't seen Creed since it was in theaters and haven't seen Creed 2 since it was on Prime or Netflix or something. So it wouldn't be fresh but I could try.

TheSuperSilver posted...

Damn, you don't think the Rocky that took Drago could beat the one from the Clubber rematch?

Good topic though

Actually you made me look at my numbers. I made a huge mistake.

Rocky / Clubber Fight 2
Hunger 9/10
Power 9/10 - Should be 8/10
Technique 9/10
Stamina 10/10
Heart 10/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 8/10
65/70

Rocky / Drago
Hunger 10/10
Power 8/10 - should be 9/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 10/10
Heart 10/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 7/10
63/70

I messed up the power numbers. Rocky 3 fight 2 against Clubber he was down in weight significantly. Rocky 4 he is focusing a lot on power.

So I need to revise that. Rocky 3 fight 2 and Rocky 4 are both a 64 overall, all tied with Apollo from Rocky 2.

This is disastrous.

Kurt_Russel posted...

Could clubber beat drago, tho?

Hell no. Anybody tough enough to take Clubber's punches for a few rounds can just wait until he tires himself out. And he wouldn't even have a power advantage against Drago.

Clubber Both fights

Hunger 10/10
Power 10/10
Technique 7/10
Stamina 7/10
Heart 9/10
Chin 7/10
Speed 7/10
57/70

Drago
Hunger 10/10
Power 10/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 9/10
Heart 9/10
Chin 9/10
Speed 8/10
63/70

Tommy Gunn Morrison
Hunger 7/10
Power 8/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 9/10
Heart 9/10
Chin 9/10
Speed 8/10
58/70

I think Clubber is lower tier, only really being able to beat Mason Dixon and ancient Rocky. Tommy Gunn would beat Clubber. Drago would destroy Clubber. Clubber would beat ancient Rocky but barely. And he could beat Apollo in Rocky 4.

KeeperOfShadows posted...

Hell no. Anybody tough enough to take Clubber's punches for a few rounds can just wait until he tires himself out. And he wouldn't even have a power advantage against Drago.

Drago don't even have to move. Clubber may even break his damn hands trying to punch Drago. That dude was next level.

Ok I was going to say Rocky 4 is better than 3. But you realized your mistake. That was Peak Rocky.

do hunger and heart not overlap just a little bit?

lolife67 posted...

Ok I was going to say Rocky 4 is better than 3. But you realized your mistake. That was Peak Rocky.

^This. And for Drago to go all the way to the end,I would put him at #2 and above any version of Apollo.

no way Rocky 2 creed is so high. i simply disagree.

Weezy_Tha_Don posted...

do hunger and heart not overlap just a little bit?

outside the Rockyverse, yes. Inside the Rockyverse, hunger is super important in like the lead up to the fight. The effort you put into the training. How badly you want to win going into it. Hunger matters in the early rounds. Heart matters more in the later rounds.

Heart is specific in the match. It is being able to be pushed beyond your limits and perform beyond your abilities. This is especially true with heart and stamina are both high.

Example - Rocky 2 has Rocky with only 8 hunger. In the lead up to the match, Adrian is in the hospital. Rocky's mind isn't on his training. He eventually turns it around and recovers, but he missed out on months of training. But, his heart is 10/10 because he got the "Win. Win!" motivation buff from Adrian.

Rocky 3 first fight, Rocky is half-assing it the entire time so 6/10 hunger. Mick having a heart attack was a huge in match debuff to heart, he could have easily gotten up with Mick in his corner but he wanted to give up.

Also Rocky 2 hunger is abysmal. Rocky 1 Creed's hunger is also abyssmal.

4/10 Hunger, Rocky, Rocky 2 (8/10 after receiving Adrian's blessing)
2/10 Hunger, Apollo, Rocky 1
1/10 Hunger, Rocky, Rocky 3 (first fight with Clubber, he's even more laid-back that Apollo in R1)

What about that manufactured paper champion Union Kane?!

Robot2600 posted...

no way Rocky 2 creed is so high. i simply disagree.

I was expecting this and Drago being the most contentious, but I stand by Apollo's rating.
Apollo vs Rocky 2
Hunger 8/10 - Apollo is pissed. This is the hungriest he has been in years. But it can't be a 10.
Power 8/10 - Apollo was always a strong boxer. 48 wins with 47 knock outs. But he is getting older, so natural for some degradation of power. But if anything, this could go up to a 9.
Technique 10/10 - No question. Apollo was the most skilled boxer in the series.
Stamina 10/10 - I could see some debate here, but Apollo was still standing after a bajillion body blows.
Heart 9/10 - Creed wants this. But his body gives out on him first.
Chin 9/10 - He takes an unbelievable punishment.
Speed 10/10 - This is foot speed and hand speed. Again should be no question here.
64/70

Only thing I could move down on would be stamina, but I could move up on power.

There is no way Apollo would be able to take Drago at any point in his career. He'd bounce right off the man.

I feel like the problem with the rankings here is that every category is weighted equally. By your scale, a napoleon-complex toothpick with 10 hunger and 1 power would beat down a complacent juggernaut with 8 power and 2 hunger, instead of just bouncing off of him. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works. The mental "fire" is an X factor that pushes fighters to win and gives that unquantifiable "edge" in Rocky, but they mean nothing without the physical stats to back them up. Theyre the edge, not the meat. That's why the training montages always need to happen.

Robot2600 posted...

Also Rocky 2 hunger is abysmal. Rocky 1 Creed's hunger is also abyssmal.

4/10 Hunger, Rocky, Rocky 2 (8/10 after receiving Adrian's blessing)
2/10 Hunger, Apollo, Rocky 1
1/10 Hunger, Rocky, Rocky 3 (first fight with Clubber, he's even more laid-back that Apollo in R1)

Apollo Fight 1
Hunger 3/10 - I put this as the minimum Apollo hunger. Event though he feels the ways he does about Rocky, he's still going to put in some work.
Power 8/10
Technique 10/10
Stamina 10/10
Heart 10/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 10/10
Total 61/70

Rocky Apollo 2

Hunger 8/10 - I only gave a single rating. The time post blessing was long enough to justify it, IMO.
Power 9/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 10/10
Heart 10/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 7/10

62/70

Rocky Clubber fight 1
Hunger 6/10 - I could see this being too high of a rating. I don't think it is lower than Apollo in Rocky, so 3 is the lowest I could go. But he still had a full training camp and came in in great shape. He wasn't in teh right mental space, though.
Power 8/10
Stamina 8/10
Technique 7/10
Heart 4/10
Chin 10/10
Speed 7/10
50/70

Drago was just a propaganda tool for the Communists.

Even Drago himself knew this.

He want's to win for himself in the Rocky fight, but it was too late.

Clubber with better training and endurance is a legend

Norman_Smiley posted...

I was expecting this and Drago being the most contentious, but I stand by Apollo's rating.
Apollo vs Rocky 2
Hunger 8/10 - Apollo is pissed. This is the hungriest he has been in years. But it can't be a 10.
Power 8/10 - Apollo was always a strong boxer. 48 wins with 47 knock outs. But he is getting older, so natural for some degradation of power. But if anything, this could go up to a 9.
Technique 10/10 - No question. Apollo was the most skilled boxer in the series.
Stamina 10/10 - I could see some debate here, but Apollo was still standing after a bajillion body blows.
Heart 9/10 - Creed wants this. But his body gives out on him first.
Chin 9/10 - He takes an unbelievable punishment.
Speed 10/10 - This is foot speed and hand speed. Again should be no question here.
64/70

Only thing I could move down on would be stamina, but I could move up on power.

the stamina has to be lower. I'd say as low as 7 even. Mic knows this, instinctively, that Creed has a strong chin and it's the body blows that are going to wear down his stamina.

DD_Divine posted...

Clubber with better training and endurance is a legend

His problem is largely that he trained solo. If he got a good trainer, he would easily go up. But he pretty much only throws hooks and crosses the entire movie.

Robot2600 posted...

the stamina has to be lower. I'd say as low as 7 even. Mic knows this, instinctively, that Creed has a strong chin and it's the body blows that are going to wear down his stamina.

Clubber Lang got the lowest stamina with a 7/10. Both of Apollo's fights against Rocky went 15 rounds and he was still throwing with some snap. Drago went 15 as well, but he didn't take as many punches on the path to get there. I gave Drago a 9, I could see going a 9, but I can't see going any lower than that.

CellBlock7 posted...

What about that manufactured paper champion Union Kane?!

Hadn't done him before. Just watched the fight to remember again

Hunger 7/10
Power 7/10
Technique 8/10
Stamina 7/10
Heart 8/10
Chin 8/10
Speed 8/10
53/70. He's losing to Mason Dixon. Dude's a bum and Tommy getting the W means little.

What about Rockys son in Rocky 5 when he beats up the bully and gets his jacket back?!