In "Rocky Balboa", Mason Dixon is played by which real-life boxer?

In Rocky Balboa, Mason Dixon is played by real-life boxer Antonio Tarver.

Tarver portrays Mason “The Line” Dixon, the reigning heavyweight champion who agrees to an exhibition match against the retired Rocky Balboa. The 2006 film uses the fight to explore celebrity, aging, reputation, and the difference between public opinion and sporting achievement.

Tarver was a genuine elite boxer, not an actor cast merely to look convincing in the ring. He won multiple light-heavyweight world titles and became especially famous for defeating Roy Jones Jr. His boxing background gave the film’s fight scenes a professional physicality, although Dixon is a fictional heavyweight character.

A common mix-up is confusing Tarver with the actors who played Rocky’s earlier opponents, including Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago and Mr. T as Clubber Lang. Tarver is the real boxer associated specifically with Mason Dixon in the sixth Rocky film.