man walks towards the camera and throws his arm into the air

After an intense fight with Clubber Lang and the death of his trainer Mickey, Rocky Balboa is left devastated. Former rival Apollo Creed steps in to help Balboa get back his fighting spirit.

After Apollo Creed is killed by Ivan Drago in a match, Rocky Balboa becomes depressed and becomes determined to get revenge.

Rocky IV is dually symbolic - it embodies both the victory of the American boxer over the Soviet one and the victory of neo-liberalism over a dwindling socialism. Today, Rocky is held up as a model by some and is a subject of derision for others. An emblem of the 1980s, its culture and its heroes, the film will be the subject of an entertaining analysis of popular culture.

His wife is dead and his son hates him, but this old man still has fight in him! When he loses a highly publicized virtual boxing match to ex-champ Rocky Balboa, reigning heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon retaliates by challenging Rocky to a nationally televised, 10-round exhibition bout. To the surprise of his son and friends, Rocky agrees to come out of retirement and face an opponent who's faster, stronger, and thirty years his junior.

An overview of the making of Rocky Balboa (2006)