Rocky: Every Final Fight Ranked Worst To Best
4. Rocky Vs. Clubber Lang (Rocky III)
Rocky III is often considered to be the start of a new era for the franchise, what with its lighter tone and shifted focus to a contender outside of Apollo, and the final fight is a testament to that new tone and narrative direction.
Fought between Balboa and the viciously fast-punching Clubber Lang (Mr. T), the threequel's epic clash causes Rocky to dig deep and use his opponent's greatest strength -- his speed and heavy swings -- against him to tire him out and weaken his defences.
The fight finds Rocky once again giving it his all, despite facing a fighter unlike any before, willing to take an absolute thrashing. It's silly, but it finds Rocky at his best: Unwilling to back down against massive punishment, playing the long game, and finally emerging victorious.