i tell you who Drago reminds me of Vitali Klitsckho no idea why but he does
in my opinion it would have been.
Apollo
Drago
Dixon
Clubber
Gunn
Gunn was by far the weakest.
now not to say Clubber was weak its the fact with Dixon and Apollo they would have used speed like Rocky did in rematch to make him tired and take him longer to KO him.
Dixon is very good true Rocky takes him to 10 rds in the film but Dixon broke his wrist and like Apollo in original film didnt take fight seriously but i think he'd beat Clubber and Gunn.
Im probs thinking Apollo and Drago are evenly matched but id imagine Apollo in his prime would have still defeated drago
SCREAM 4 DOCTOR WHO

Guys are giving Drago too much credit and not enough to Clubber Lang.
He destroy Rocky within two rounds and was the only one to knock him out when Rocky did the same thing to him he did against Drago, which was go toe to toe.
Against Land in the rematch, Rocky used a great combination of bob and weave and the ropey dope technique to not take many shots from Lang while wasting his energy.
Lang lost his energy and Rocky drop him.
Lang obviously was the harder puncher than Drago but drago had the much greater cardio. Yet Drago did not show good defense and would had been stop by Lang unless the fight would had went past five rounds than I would give it to Drago.
Plus lets not forget Drego was dosing on heavy Roids. Lang was just a natural beast.

Yeah Big Easy, But he also was cheating with steroids, makes a big difference!

I'd have to go for Creed, the most skilled and balanced of all Rocky's opponents. A prime Apollo would have out boxed the slugish Drago. Also as people had pointed out he was past his prime in the Drago fight but it was also an exhibition match and didn't go in expecting a war, he kept it light and succumbed to a sucker punch.

1. Ivan Drago
2. Clubber Lang
3. Apollo Creed
4. Tommy Gunn
5. Mason Dixon
   I agree with this ordering. Drago was so hateable and so awesome at the same time (and remember the USA/USSR political tension of the time - people were more or less expecting nuclear war back then). Drago scared the collective beep out of Americans, and then of course Rocky brings the cold war to an end with his "change" speech.
   Clubber Lang Mr. T was the most insulting and egotistical of all, and even said rude things to Adrian, and made Mickie die. I pity the fool. Eye of the Tiger!
   Apollo is/was the most sporting and likeable opponent and actually made Rocky into a much better boxer. I admired his cockiness and flamboyance, but sad that his ego wouldn't allow him to call off the fight with Drago and effectively committed suicide.
   Tommy Gunn??? Who's that? Easily forgettable, but
   Mason Dixon is supposedly the most "realistic" of all, but I watch Rocky movies for entertainment and he was BY FAR the most boring bland one-dimensional opponent. Yawn!

And then Thunderlips comes and body slams them all! (And then gets fired from his Rent-a-Center gig for violating his contract.)

1. Ivan Drago
2. Clubber Lang
3. Apollo Creed
4. Tommy Gunn
5. Mason Dixon
   Any other order is wrong.

In their prime I would have to say Appollo all the way.
Put an end to SBL

Apollo Creed is the finest and most realistic looking fighter Rocky had to face.
.

Adrian and paulie.

yes sir.
s'all about Apollo. and I agree that he's past it before the series even begins. they kinda reference it in Rocky where the commentator says "he's not looked at his best" or somethin' like that.
together the ants can crush the elephant.

Let's be honest you can't really have a sensible debate because Drago isn't a boxer as much as he is a villain with super powers. He'd have killed any one with that power, the ref would have stopped Rocky in the first round after he went down 3 or 4 times.
Realistically speaking there's no way a fighter in his first professional fight could beat a well rounded boxer like Creed, it just wouldn't happen. Rocky beating Creed is unlikely enough but a guy in his first professional fight like Drago? No way. Creed is arguably past his prime in Rocky I, I don't know exactly how old he is but he seems to have already fought and beaten everyone and now it's a case of just fighting until he loses.
But yeah, Creed is easily the best of the series, he simply was the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champ of the world.

I would have to say Drago for his obvious height, reach, strength (with or without the 'roids) he was a a young idealystic fighter who took Rocky all the way and gave him grain damage!!
Apollo was also one of the most athletically gifted fighters of the series, the way he trained Rocky in Rocky 3 and instilled in him controll, stamina and poise instead of just bruising proved what a great fighter Apollo was.

I'd say the Rocky II version of Apollo is the best of the bunch(drago included).
Unlike Rocky, Apollo has height, speed, Power, and skill. Obviously he cant take nearly as much punishment from Drago as Rocky, but he is not going to be getting hit nearly as much. I think he beats Drago on points but he still beats him.

"You fight great but I'm a great fighter"
Best line of the entire series.

This message has been deleted.

Overall, I'll say Apollo was the best fighter, here's him compared to the other opponents of Rocky:

1. Apollo- He's a boxer, an excellent combination of speed, finesse, and power. He came prepared with a strategy prior to every round. Very much modeled after Muhammed Ali.
2. Clubber- He's a puncher, he had no style and no technique. He simply cornered his opponents and started punching them silly. He has a lot of power indeed but if you can wear him out, you can defeat him. He becomes vulnerable when tired. Modeled after George Foreman.
3. Drago- Another puncher. His strengths were his height, his reach, and obviously the steroids. If he didn't had the steroids, he would be another Clubber. Like Clubber, his strategy was to simply corner his opponents and unleash his punches.
4. Tommy Gunn- Tommy was trained in Rocky's pre-"Rocky III" form of just punching by Rocky himself. Before "Rocky III", Rocky was a puncher trying to box. Had Tommy faced Apollo Creed, he would've lost easily.
5. Dixon- Like Creed, he was a boxer. However, Dixon lacked the experience of a real boxing match because he was spoon-fed his opponents. He never fought real battles until facing Rocky. If Dixon would've fought Apollo in his prime, Apollo's finesse style would've defeated Dixon.
   OVERALL WINNER: APOLLO CREED

In professional boxing rules: pre-rocky 1 apollo
In amateur boxing rules: drago

I would go with Drago, cause it's He-Man!

two words ppl
SPIDER RICO!!

Ok, as far as who the best antagonist is, it's Apollo by quite a bit for me. He really does come across as a boxer and has more acting skills than all the rest of them.
Now, as far as who would win in a fight in the Rocky universe. I got Tommy Gunn as the loser, he sucked. They also basically said that Dixon didn't have a chance against Rocky in his prime, and seeing how he was ridiculed and barely beat a 60 year old Rocky it's safe to say he's the next weakest.
The next to go would be Clubber. His strength was his big asset, and that would mean nothing against Drago. Creed had exactly the right style to beat Clubber, the same style that he taught Rocky.
So it's between Apollo and Drago. Personally, I think Apollo was past his prime before Rocky even (although he was near it) and it was slowly downhill from there. That's part of the reason he became so obsessed with Rocky imo, he represented Apollo's decline. Also, Creed would still have beaten Rocky in Rocky II if he had played it smart instead of trying to go for the knock out. Against Drago, he would have to be quick on his feet to have a chance, but I do think he COULD have a chance.
Another thing I'm taking into consideration is that Drago was on lots and lots of steroids. Drago as he is in Rocky 4, Apollo will lose hands down. Drago off the steroids, with Apollo boxing smart (something he didn't do when he lost to Rocky) and in his prime (which we may or may not have seen) and it's a toss-up to me.

Apollo.

Clubber is too stupid though. He fell right into Rocky's trap of getting worn out, even after Rocky basically told him that was what he was trying to do. "Oh yeah? I ain't breathin' heavy!"
Taking a rematch for Rocky to beat him says little about Clubber and more about Rocky at that point in his life. He wasn't hungry. He hardly trained, preferring to make a hokey show of it in front of a paying crowd. He went into the ring worried to hell about Mickey's condition.
If the Rocky from the first movie was fighting Clubber, say if it was Clubber instead of Apollo that was champion, it would have been a very different fight. Much longer, more bloody, and with an unpredictable winner.

Hmm I don't know. I think Drago showed us that he can really take a punch, and he has great stamina. He went the distance with Rocky. The only other guy to do that is Apollo - but Apollo can't take a punch as well as Drago can. Rocky didn't tag him anywhere near as often or as hard as he tagged Drago, and Drago lasted until the 15th before going down.
All Drago would have to do is be able to take Apollo's punches - which if he could take Rocky's he could take Apollo's. Drago goes to the body enough to slow Apollo down, then works him upstairs and sends him on his rear end. 6-8 rounds.