Boxing is a combat sport that can be methodical, like a chess game, or can be a brutal and bloody slug fest. The true art of boxing comes when two rivals are at their best, each wanting to come out a victor. Although it can be fought any number of ways, a boxing match will always be a fight between just two people.
Maybe it's the personal struggles of boxers, the brutal nature of the sport, or the fact that both boxing and motion pictures became popular around the same time that makes them so ingrained in film. Whatever the reason may be, boxing is the most popular sport to be on the silver screen.
10 City Lights
1931
Although it's not a movie that centers around boxing, this Charlie Chaplin classic features one of the most famous boxing films to ever be put on film. When The Tramp falls in love with a poor, blind girl, he takes on a number of odd jobs to help her and her family.
The Tramp eventually gets talked into faking a fight with a boxer who is afraid of losing. However, The Tramp doesn't realize, until it's too late, that the boxer has been replaced by a real fighter. The hilarious fight is cartoonish, as The Tramp tries his hardest to not get hit. Although it may not be a real depiction of the sport, City Lights is a classic slapstick comedy that is enough to entice boxing and movie fans alike.
9 When We Were Kings
1996
Boxing is such a grueling sport, that it's not hard to deviate far from the truth to tell a good story. Sometimes life can be stranger than fiction, and it's better to just show the story the way it really was. That's the case for the Muhammad Ali documentary When We Were Kings.
The documentary follows Muhammad Ali as he is stripped of his boxing license for protesting the Vietnam War, and must fight George Foreman in the African country of Zaire. Ali's personal struggles and perseverance to be the greatest of all time are shown through old film clips and narrated by those who were around Ali during the famous Rumble in the Jungle fight. Boxing fans will admire this close look into the personal life of one of the greatest fighters to ever enter the ring.
8 Bleed For This
2016
True stories of perseverance are not hard to come by when it comes to boxing. Fighters need to be in top physical shape if they want to be a champion. However, life is chaotic, and things happen that can get in the way of a fighter's rise to the top. Bleed For This tells the true story of Vinny Paz, who was a world champion fighter, but broke his neck in a car accident. After being told that he won't be able to fight again, Vinny defies the doctor's orders and train to get back in the ring
Vinny Paz's struggle to get back into fighting after a near-death experience is shown in excruciating detail. With Miles Teller giving one of his best performances of his career, this biopic is one that boxing fans shouldn't miss.
7 Jungleland
2019
Boxing is not always about winning. For every fight, there must be one loser. In the case of Jungleland, the loser is a promising professional boxer whose brother gets in the way of his success. Although the Kaminski brothers stick together, as they are the only family they have left, it's obvious that Stanley is holding his boxer brother, Lion, back.
The brothers embark on a cross-country journey to pay off a debt and enter the dark world of bare-knuckle boxing. Dealing with family, trust, and poverty, Jungleland is an emotional film to get through. Though it may lack the classic training montages, Jungleland is a story that any fan of underdog stories will enjoy.
6 Million Dollar Baby
2004
The bond between a trainer and fighter can be very close, oftentimes reflecting the bond between father and son. Million Dollar Baby explore this bond and reflects on the relationship between a father and daughter. Maggie Fitzgerald needs a dedicated trainer if she wants to become a world champion of women's boxing. She finds Frankie Dunn, who reluctantly trains her, and their relationship grows as they move up the ranks of the professional division.
Clint Eastwood's unique ability as a storyteller to go in-depth with personal stories, shines through in Million Dollar Baby. As touching as the relationship between fighter and trainer can be, this movie is not afraid to show the horrors that the tough sport can bring.
5 Cinderella Man
2005
Boxing has taken some of the poorest people on Earth and turned them into world-renowned legends. Rags-to-riches stories are plentiful in the sport, because it offers people a fighting chance at beating poverty. Cinderella Man is one such story that is based on the real life of heavyweight champion James J. Braddock. While trying to feed his family during the Great Depression, former contender, Braddock, returns to the ring out of desperation. However, after he is able to beat the odds, Braddock rises to the top of the ranks and is able to fight for his chance at being the world champion.
Cinderella Man depicts one of the darkest eras of history, but is enlightening enough to tell a tale of how perseverance can conquer the toughest opponents. Fans of boxing will admire the authenticity of the film, while movie fans will admire this unforgettable rags-to-riches story.
4 Hard Times
1975
Although boxing can be a way for impoverished youths to get out of their bad situation, not every story ends with riches. In Hard Times, greed gets in the way of saving two drifters from thriving through The Great Depression. When Speed, a fast-talking gambler, discovers Chaney, a freight-hopping fighter, in a bare-knuckle boxing match, Speed takes Chaney to new opportunities as his promoter. The two become friends as they continue to win every fight that comes their way, but Speed's gambling addiction continues to set the duo back.
Hard Times was Walter Hill's, famous for The Warriors, first film, and it previews the director's great vision. With great performances by yesterday's famous action stars, Charles Bronson and James Coburn, Hard Times is a boxing movie that shouldn't be forgotten.
3 The Fighter
2010
Boxing is a tough sport to compete in. It requires a lot of support from the loved ones of the fighter. If the fighter has no one to rely on, then he may lose it all. The Fighter tells the true story of world champion Micky ward and his once-professional boxer half-brother, Dicky Eklund. As his brother's drug addiction takes casts a shadow over his family, Mickey struggles to find the help he needs to return to the ring.
The Fighter deals with both the struggles of drug addiction and the anxiety that boxers go through. The movie balances both the rise of contender Micky Ward, with the fall of "The Pride of Lowell" Dicky Eklund. Great performances, by Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, elevate this true boxing tale.
2 Raging Bull
1980
Boxing can be a brutal sport, and is only fit for the toughest individuals who are willing to get beaten up for entertainment. Raging Bull shows the toll the sport can have on even the toughest fighters. Based on the real life of Jake "The Raging Bull" LaMotta, Raging Bull presents the harsh rise and fall of the fighter as he is tormented by his own self-doubts, both inside and outside the ring.
Fans of the movie will remember the bloody and gruesome fight scenes that are somehow even more shocking in black and white. Martin Scorsese's great direction is on its best in this movie that boxing fans can't stop praising.
1 Rocky
1976
Boxing, as barbaric as the sport may appear to some audiences, can be a beautiful sport with fantastic stories surrounding it. However, there is no greater story than that of the underdog, and there is no greater underdog story than Sylvester Stallone's iconic Rocky. Rocky "The Italian Stallion" Balboa gets the chance of a lifetime when he accepts to fight the reigning champ, Apollo Creed. The underdog, however, is unsure of his own abilities to defeat Creed.
Rocky is both the greatest boxing movie and love movie ever made. With Rocky and Adrian's love story taking center stage, there's an added emotional attachment to the film. Boxing fans will have their hearts warmed after watching Rocky beat the odds, and his own doubts, by going the distance.