Clubber Lang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Clubber Lang is a fictional character that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1982 movie Rocky III. He was played by the popular "bodyguard to the stars" Mr. T. He was 29 years old when the film was launched.

During Rocky III's intro, we see Rocky defeating numerous contenders in a montage. In this montage, Clubber is displayed as being annoyed at the relative ease with which Rocky wins the bouts. Later he is seen training himself and brutally thrashing other boxers until he becomes the number one contender. At the end of the montage, Clubber is shown yelling at Rocky's trainer Mickey, goading him to set up a fight between Rocky and himself, and being disrespectful to Rocky's wife Adrian, prompting Rocky to lose his temper and challenge Lang to a fight.

Clubber, the hard hitting brawler, has a character which is much like his boxing style: direct, aggressive and brutal. His fighting style and record show a similarity to a young George Foreman. Before the second match between Rocky and Clubber (the first is won by Clubber by a knock-out in the second round), a reporter asks Clubber what his prediction for the fight is. His answer is simply: "Pain". Rocky defeated Clubber in the second bout with a knockout in the third round.

Little more is known about this character. Before both of the fights he is introduced as being from Chicago, (his nickname is "The Southside Slugger"). The Internet Movie Database does not provide a name for his manager, though one novelization of the film called him "Donut."

Clubber fights in a Southpaw stance (left-handed) much like Rocky; however, he is much more aggressive and prefers to attack the head with hooks, as opposed to Rocky, who uses body shots. Clubber is heavier than Rocky as well, listing at 235 pounds in their first fight and 237 pounds in their second (compared to Rocky's 201 and 191 pounds respectively), and stands a few inches taller. He has tremendous punching power, however he tends to tire through later rounds and has little defense aside from just throwing more punches. Mickey Goldmill and Apollo Creed both decide that the trick to beating Clubber is to take time and wear him down, rather than trying to outpunch him. Indeed, by tricking Clubber into punching himself out, Rocky was able to out-psyche Clubber and knock him in the rematch.

Although Clubber Lang only played in one film, he (and Mr.T with it) gained great popularity.

Clubber originated the phrase "I pity the fool," which has since become synonomous with Mr. T himself.

Preceded by Rocky Balboa

Rocky Championship Boxers winner {{{years}}}

Succeeded by Rocky Balboa

Rocky Series
Rocky | Rocky II | Rocky III | Rocky IV | Rocky V | Rocky Balboa
Characters
Rocky Balboa | Apollo Creed | Clubber Lang Ivan Drago | Tommy Gunn | Mason Dixon
Related Articles
Boxing | The Distance | "Southpaw" World Heavyweight Championship