Dolph Lundgren revisits 'Rocky IV' injury that sent Sylvester Stallone to ICU

Washington DC [US], November 29 : Dolph Lundgren reflected on the real-life injury he inflicted on Sylvester Stallone while filming boxing scenes for Rocky IV, People reported.

"I don't know if it was my body or exhaustion or my punches, I don't know, but he did get hurt," he said of Stallone.

40 years after Rocky IV, Dolph Lundgren opened up about the very real injury he dealt Sylvester Stallone in the boxing ring.

Lundgren, who played the iconic movie villain Ivan Drago in the fourth Rocky movie, recalled in a recent interview that he did not realise that he had seriously injured Stallone. Lundgren recalled that he was unaware of the severity of the injury while filming the climactic Drago-vs-Balboa bout in Vancouver, reported People.

"I didn't know it happened; we were both getting hit in that fight," Lundgren, now 68, said. "We shot for two weeks in Vancouver, and I got back to L.A. ... the producer called and said, 'Hey, Dolph, you got two weeks off.' I said, 'That's great, what's going on?' 'Sly's in the hospital.' I found out that way."

Lundgren admitted feeling "a little guilty" about the incident. "He was the boss, I did what he told mego really hard with the body, those Russian uppercuts," he explained. "I don't know if it was my body, exhaustion, or my punches, but he did get hurt. I'm sorry about that," reported People.

Stallone, 79, recounted the aftermath in his 2021 documentary The Making of Rocky vs. Drago. He described being air-lifted from the Canadian set to a California ICU after Lundgren "pulverised" him during the fight scene. "I didn't feel it in the moment, but later that night my heart started to swell," Stallone said. His blood pressure surged to 260, and he spent four days in intensive care, surrounded by nuns, before returning to finish the fight.

Both actors have since reflected on the injury with characteristic humour and camaraderie, underscoring the physical extremes they embraced to bring the iconic showdown to life, reported People.

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