Chukzombi
Millie's Staff Member
Rocky didnt get "lazy". shit, he was in much better shape than he ever was in Rocky I and II. what happened to him and was explained in the movie is that Rocky just didnt care anymore about being the champ. he lost focus of what was important as a fighter. when the Rocky statue was unveiled, and Rocky announced at the ceremony that he was retiring, he was moving on with his life. away from boxing. then Clubber calls him out, riles him up by trying to turn his wife into a coalburner, then Rocky loses his shit and wants to fight him. but he's still lost his edge and thats why he lost because Clubber was hungry. Apollo steps in and again explains to Rocky that he needs to get hungry too, train like a poor nog trying to scrape out a living. getting in even better shape was just part of it, Rocky needed to get angry, he needed his fucks back. well he did. he got his fucks and was able to get inside Clubber's head and tire him out so he could lower the boom on him. being hungry is how Rocky went the distance and beat Apollo even though Apollo was in much better shape. Apollo beat Rocky down like a dog and Rocky still kept chugging along.Yeah, and I'd go so far as to say Rocky was MORE of an underdog in Rocky 4.
He may be 1-0 against Drago and 1-1 against Clubber (meaning Clubber was more successful against him) but the stories of the two movies tell a different...story.
Rocky 3 was about Rocky basically getting lazy and weak and that being capitalized-on by a young hungry opponent in Clubber. Also he lost Mickey right before the fight and that messed him up mentally. When he came back for the rematch, he basically squashed Clubber, who gassed out after the first round or two.
Rocky 4 on the other hand was him up against an invincible Russian who had more punching force than prime Mike Tyson (who had the world record IRL at the time). Rocky had to get in like 2X as good shape just to fight the guy at close to parity.
So basically Rocky 3 was "stop being lazy and take out this young hungry guy who you shouldn't be having this much of an issue with" and Rocky 4 was "get much stronger to have a chance at hanging with this invincible guy". Also there's the element that Rocky lost to Apollo in the off-camera fight at the end of Rocky 3, then Apollo got killed by Ivan in Rocky 4 with relative ease. Which shows us what would have happened if Rocky had gone against Ivan at that time.
when Rocky faced Drago, Rocky had to be in the best possible shape he could. he needed every ounce of strength and endurance to take him on. but even then it was still a suicide mission. his only hope was stay away from Drago's huge punches and tire him out. Rocky caught a lucky break and cut Drago. looking at his own blood, it shook Drago's confidence, he no longer felt invincible, he wasnt in fact a machine. so it provided Rocky an opportunity to chop him down little by little like a tree. he won the respect of the russian audience and Drago lost face. he was already beaten at that point. but all this came at a cost. he was still knocking the fuck out of Rocky, Rocky would have died for sure in that fight if he wasnt in such good physical condition. still it took its toll and Rocky was fucked after it. cue Rocky V.