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Ivan Drago

Ivan Drago (February 23, 1956-) was a boxer and Russian Mafia enforcer from Moscow, Russia (then part of the Soviet Union).

Biography[]

Ivan Drago was born February 23, 1956 in Moscow, Russia when the country was under Soviet rule. Not much is known about his early life apart from that he was a boxer and Russian Mafia enforcer who would do illegal underground cage fighting in the Soviet Union. He grew up very poor and would marry Ludmilla Drago who would be involved in horse racing which was also part of the Russian mob’s illegal gambling ring.

In 1985, a Russian Mafia lieutenant named Nicolai Koloff was tasked with expanding their businesses overseas in the United States. Drago was with his wife as well as his trainers, Manuel Vega and Sergei Rimsky. The latter was a fellow Russian mobster and the latter was an associate of theirs. Boxing would be used as a front for their illegal gambling operations. Ivan Drago was also addicted to steroids and would sometimes distribute them within the United States. 42-year-old Apollo Creed decided to come out of his five-year retirement and face Drago after hearing about him on TV. He was Drago’s first professional opponent whom he ended up killing in the boxing ring in Las Vegas, Nevada. 39-year-old Rocky Balboa wanted to avenge his best friend and volunteered to fight him in Anchorage, Alaska on December 25, 1985. Rocky ended up performing a Christmas miracle by defeating Ivan Drago, causing the Russian mob syndicate to cease operations within the United States.

Ludmilla ended up divorcing Ivan Drago, leaving him with an infant son named Viktor Drago because he was disgraced by the Russian mob and she didn’t want to have to continue begging for money like him. Ivan Drago would train his son Viktor to become a boxer, much like himself.

In 2018, Ivan and Viktor met a boxing promoter named Buddy Parcelle who was visiting Ukraine. For a second time, Ivan visited the United States but he was in San Francisco, California which was the home of his promoter. Shortly after, Ivan, Viktor and Buddy traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in order to meet Rocky at his restaurant. Apollo Creed’s son named Adonis Creed (who was Rocky’s surrogate nephew) was challenged to a boxing match. Viktor Drago ended up beating Adonis. The Russian Mafia saw this and decided to give Drago a second chance. Ivan Drago went back to Russia where he met with his ex-wife and several other Russian mobsters whom he had never seen before. Viktor was angry and stormed out because he didn’t like how they treated his father. Ivan tried to convince his son to win for him and not repeat his own mistakes.

Meanwhile, Rocky and Adonis were training out in the desert of Arizona. The rematch between Adonis and Viktor took place on a Sioux reservation in North Dakota. After a lengthy fight between Adonis and Viktor, Ivan threw the towel in order to stop the fight after and several other Russian mobsters left. He complimented his son and no longer cared what they thought of him.

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