Almost like the movie "Bloodsport", but with punches instead of kicks

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2014)

So, Rocky, knocking out Clubber Lane in Rocky III, is basking once again in the joys of being a heavyweight champion in Rocky IV, but then, Rocky and his friend, former boxing champion Apollo Creed, gets word that the USSR will enter the prizefighting world with their infamous tall guy, Ivan Drago.
As Ivan Drago and his wife and coach enter the USA and decide on a exhibition bout against either Rocky or Apollo, we see evidence of Ivan's devastating punching power. Apollo finally decides to take on that big Russian fighter even though Rocky is telling him this can be dangerous. But Apollo wants to still go at it, and Rocky decides to be his ringside coach.
So, at Las Vegas, the pre-bout festivities include James Brown's rendition of "Living in America", rigged to intimidate Ivan so much that he secretly swears to kill Apollo in the ring. And so, as the exhibition bout starts, Ivan gets his death wish, pummeling Apollo in Round 1, and then, in the middle of Round 2, finishes Apollo off with a killer uppercut that completely finishes him off, leaving him bleeding--and later on, dead--in the ring. Rocky could do nothing to stop Ivan's deadly anger and only could watch his friend wasted fatally in blood.
Rocky decides to avenge Apollo's death by placing his championship belt on Apollo's grave, and leaves it there. All is set for a boxing-style death match in the USSR on December 25 between Rocky and Ivan, where Rocky says no money will be paid.
Rocky's wife strongly reproaches Rocky's decision to fight Ivan, fearing that he could be facing the same death like what Ivan did to Apollo, but Rocky retorts that he has to use his extrovert mentality to overcome Ivan's killer punches.
So, as Rocky heads to the USSR to a place similar to Siberia, he meets up with Apollo's friend, starts his training for the fight (while Ivan does his own training under his coach and his wife) in the country's cold milieu, and after a pause in the training, Rocky realizes that his wife decided to go to Russia to meet up with him, saying "I'm with you no matter what." His training continues.
The training montage was definitely pretty good. Great camera work and inter-cutting as Rocky uses old-school training by things like pulling a sled, or throwing heavy stones, or breaking parts of trees with an ax, while Ivan was focusing on steroids, machines with computer readouts, and destroying sparring partners with his bone-crushing punches.
The fight itself was like a blood sport too. 15 very hard rounds, and it seemed like neither fighter would gain an advantage, but after the bloody punches were over, Rocky became the victor after finally knocking Ivan out in the 15th round. The hostile Russian crowd during the fight realized they could not be that anymore...they respected Rocky's awesome human determination in this non-sanctioned fight.