Boxing is one of the most popular sports put to film. Boxing enthralls spectatorswith its barbaric waltzand battle of brains and brawn. Hand-to-hand combat has been a part of human existence since Cain and Abel.Picking a fightturned the tides of history, but in the boxing ring, it became a sport of agility, endurance, and strength. Pugilism is perhaps the best sport forthe underdog archetype, complete with rags-to-riches and redemption storylines.David becomes Goliath, training until he reaches peak physical performance to face his contenders.
The sport has oftendramatized the brawls, most notably from theRockyfranchise. Clubber Lang inRocky IIIis a loose caricature of professional boxers George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Sonny Liston. While boxing has its share of egos and personas taking center stage, it’s easy to forget that athletes lived and died for the sport. More than any other sport film, boxing tells the fundamental truth of therough-and-tumble livesof its boxers.
9Hands of Stone (2016)
Roberto Durán (Édgar Ramírez) was a Panaminian professional boxer who competed over the course of five decades. Durán held world championships as a lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight. He was a pressure fighter with a defensive style that supported his heavy-handed blows, earning him the “Mano de Piedra” (“Hands of Stone”) moniker. His trainer Ray Arcel (Robert De Niro) had trained 20 world championships since the 1920s until retiring after Durán’s fight with Sugar Ray Leonard in November 1980. Arcel made a brief return to Durán’s corner in January 1982 to fight Wilfred Benítez. Having the Raging Bull as your coach pays dividends for a boxing film, but the box office didn’t win the prizefight forHands of Stone.
8Chuck (2016)
Heavyweight boxer Chuck Wepner, alias “Bayonne Bleeder,” fought Muhammad Ali in 1975 for the title of heavyweight champion. Chuck went fifteen rounds with Ali and was one of four fights in which Ali was knocked down. This fight was billed asGive the White Guy a Breakand later became the inspiration for Sylvester Stallone’sRocky. Chuck’s fights were controversial and the title bout with Ali was no exception. Rabbit punches or lethal and illegal punches to the back of one’s head, were thrown by Chuck. Since the referee didn’t intervene, Ali threw his own rabbit punches and knocked out Chuck. Rocky Balboa cleaned up Chuck Wepner’s dirty reputation for his movie franchise, focusing on the line Chuck told his wife: “Even if I don’t win, I just want to prove I belong there.”
7Ali (2001)
Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, was a larger-than-life figure let alone the greatest heavyweight boxer to step foot in the ring. Ali was a conscious objector of the Vietnam War, a civil rights activist, a devout Muslim, and a trash-talking, free-styling poet. The performance from Will Smith inAlifelt half-serviceable and half-impression, even though he studied Ali’s life extensively. Smith did honor “The Greatest” one last time by being one of the pallbearers at his funeral.
6Gentleman Jim (1942)
In the late 1880s, the sport of boxing was outlawed and deemed a crime against morality in 21 states. James J. Corbett (Errol Flynn) pursued acting before and after his career as a prizefighter. Corbett was known as “Gentleman Jim” and the “Father of Modern Boxing” for refining the sport through his use of footwork and other techniques over brute force. He became the first person to win the Heavyweight title under the code of accepted rules for boxing, the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, and the only man to defeat the reigning champion, “Boston Strong Boy” John L. Sullivan, after 21 rounds. Corbett invented the championship boxing lineage, and more importantly, brought sportsmanship to boxing.
Related:Best Boxing Movies of the 20th Century, Ranked
5Cinderella Man (2005)
The Great Depression fighter James J. Braddock was known as “Cinderella Man” after he made a comeback win against Max Baer and became the world heavyweight champion. Braddock injured his hand multiple times, forcing him to become a dockworker on the waterfront of New Jersey. His left hand became stronger than his right, and after he healed, gave him a successful return to boxing. He would often donate his earnings, including his welfare money, to the Catholic Worker Movement for the homeless and hungry. Russell Crowe portrays the struggling athlete well inCinderella Man.
Related:Best Movies About Boxing, Ranked
4The Fighter (2010)
InThe Fighter, Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and Dickie Eklund (Christian Bale) are half-brothers and former professional boxers from Lowell, Massachusetts, who rise and fall for their respective championship titles. Their familial bond is tested when Micky learns that his trainer and half-brother Dickie is addicted to cocaine, jeopardizing Micky’s chances and focus in the ring. Dickie advises Micky from prison and upon his release from jail, helps Micky reclaim another title win. Both half-brothers have beautiful redemption stories and the portrayals from Wahlberg and Bale are complimentary.
3The Hurricane (1999)
Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter (Denzel Washington) was a middleweight boxer wrongly convicted of a triple murder in 1966 that took place in a bar in Paterson, New Jersey. He spent twenty years in prison where he wrote his 1974 autobiography,The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To 45472. Lesra Martin (Vicellous Reon Shannon), a future lawyer and reader of Carter’s book, visited Carter in prison in 1980, eventually helping enact his release in 1985. InThe Hurricane, Washington shows a restrained and restored strength of character in the midst of what felt like defeat for Carter.
2Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Boxing legend Rocky Graziano (Paul Newman) was a ragamuffin and rebel growing up. He fought for himself on the streets, went to jail and reform schools, and was discharged from the U.S. Army. Graziano was undisciplined from the start, but decided boxing was good enough to make a living after selling his first amateur gold medal for $15. James Dean was originally given the role, but died before filming, while Rod Taylor was also considered for the role. In one of his first starring roles, Newman delivers a gut-wrenching but hopeful performance.
1Raging Bull (1980)
Martin Scorsese adapted the memoir and life of Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro) in aRaging Bull. He had no fighting style or technique other than to bully and beat his opponent into submission. Outside the ring, LaMotta was self-destructive, constantly proving his worth by fighting his own family. As a youth, his father forced him to fight neighborhood kids to pay for rent and entertain the adults. The paranoia, bravado, and competitive narcissism De Niro exudes, matched with how Scorsese shot the film, put LaMotta’s notorious reputation to rest.
