"You're gonna have to go through hell, worse than any nightmare you've ever

              dreamed. But when it's over, I know you'll be the one standing. You  

                          know what you have to do. Do it. '

Following is win over Clubber lang in New York Rocky returns home to Philadelphia. Meanwhile a Soviet boxer by the name of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) arrives in the USA to challenge the best American fighters. Apollo Creed, motivated by patriotism and a desire to prove himself, jumps at the chance to get in the ring with the Soviet for an exhibition fight. Rocky himself is a little apprehensive about this, but eventually agrees to help him train. Creed and Drago fight in Las vegas, and on the night of the fight Creed enters the ring like an international superstar.....yet the match turns into a tradegy as Creed is killed by the Soviet boxer in the second round. Rocky is gutted, particularly after he encouraged Creed to throw in the towel earlier on in the round.

After Apollo's funeral, feeling grief over not stopping the fight, and incensed by Drago's cold indifference to killing Apollo, Rocky decides he must avenge Apollo's death and sets up a match with the Russian. The match is set for Christmas Day, in Moscow, but Rocky's title is not on the line because the boxing commission refuses to sanction the fight. Adrian initially cannot understand why Rocky would fight, fearing for his life. Rocky flies to a remote and rustic part of the Soviet Union to train; to help with his training he brings Apollo's former trainer Tony "Duke" Evers and his brother-in-law Paulie. Training runs for several months, with Rocky using more humble methods like chopping wood, running up snowy embankments, and lifting huge rocks; Drago is using the most modern equipment coupled with regular injections of what appears to be steroids. During one of his runs, Rocky returns to find Adrian waiting for him. With Adrian providing more reason to succeed, Rocky begins to train even harder.

After intense preparation for both fighters, the two men finally meet in the ring. The match set in Moscow, before the Politburo, and is broadcast throughout the globe. The crowd is strongly against Rocky, booing him fiercely and cheering Drago. After a pummeling first round, with the Russian easily winning, Rocky comes back toward the end of the second and cuts Drago just below his eye. With Drago's confidence shaken by the injury and Rocky's apparently limitless endurance and resilience, this is a turning point as Rocky and his trainers see that Drago is not superhuman as he appears, conversely while Drago describes Rocky as non-human and a "piece of iron."

The fight degenerates into a brutal battle of stamina and will across all fifteen rounds. By the end, the Soviet crowd has been won over by Rocky's determination and endurance, and have begun chanting his name. One Politburo member is angered by the crowd's change in mood and gets up to the ring to berate Drago's performance; Drago then throttles the official and tosses him aside, saying "I win for myself." In the fifteenth and final round, both fighters batter at each other, but Drago's endurance finally runs out, while Rocky finds his last burst of strength and lands one final signature left hook that finally knocks out the Russian.

Following his victory, Rocky gives an impassioned speech to the crowd, acknowledging their initial and mutual disdain for each other, and how they've come to respect and admire each other during the fight. Saying that the brutal battle between him and Drago in the ring was better than war between their two countries, he brings the crowd, including the Politburo, to its feet in applause, by claiming that "if I can change and you can change, then everybody can change!"

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