The Top 10 Best Boxing Movies

May 6, 2020January 17, 2021 Patrick Sessoms athletes, boxers, Boxing, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington, Dolph Lundgren, fighting, Jeff Bridges, Mark Wahlberg, Michael B. Jordan, Robert De Niro, Russell Crowe, sports, sports movie, Sylvester Stallone

5. Million Dollar Baby

I dare you to tell her that she punches like a girl.

Anyone who says women can’t fight needs to take a look at the next entry on this list of boxing movies. There are a few movies out there about lady boxers, but Million Dollar Baby is the best by a long shot. The film follows Maggie Fitzgerald (Hillary Swank) an up and coming boxer determined to be trained by the world’s oldest and angriest coach, Frank (Clint Eastwood). Being “from a different time” Frank doesn’t think dames have the moxy for fisticuffs. Maggie proves him wrong and begins a promising career as a boxer. I won’t ruin the film for you, but if you don’t know how this story ends, you need to find out. Million Dollar Baby racked in a ton of accolades and awards, including Best Picture. It’s not the only film on this list of boxing movies to do that though.

4. The Fighter

Can’t afford therapy? Try hitting someone real, real hard.

Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, a boxer from, you guessed it, Boston. A solid fighter in his own right, he lives in the shadow of his older half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale) whose claim to fame is that he once went toe-to-toe with Sugar Ray. That was a long time ago, and now Dicky is a scrawny drug addict. Micky doesn’t come from the most supportive home environment, and both his mother and Dicky have screwed him over plenty of times before. Still, Micky is looking ahead towards the future and his potential as a fighter in his own right. The first thing he needs to do though is get away from all the toxic people in his life, even if they are family. When it comes to drama outside the ring, The Fighter is pretty high up there.

3. Fat City

I had no idea there was a geriatric weight class.

The thing about boxing movies is that no one can be the king forever. Age and severe brain damage catch up to even the best fighters. Fat City tackles that idea as Billy Tully (Stacy Keach), a boxer past his prime, returns to his hometown to get back to basics. There he runs into a promising teen, Ernie Munger (Jeff Bridges), who just might have what it takes to be the next big thing. The two set off on paths in opposite directions as Munger struggles to get his career in the ring started just as Tully’s starts to wind down. It’s a film that takes a hard look at the fact that not many boxers actually manage to make a career out of fighting. The truth is that it’s a brutal sport that takes a serious toll on you and the next thing you know you’re past your prime and wondering where your life went.

2. Raging Bull

It’s art, since it’s in black and white.

Robert De Niro has been in a couple of boxing movies, but the one earning a spot on this list is the Martin Scorsese flick about Jake LaMotta.A boxer who rose to fame in the ’40s, LaMotta went on to win the Middleweight title during the course of his career. Raging Bull explores more than just LaMotta’s boxing career and his personal life isn’t a pretty picture. LaMotta had a bit of a temper. That combined with jealousy led to him making some pretty poor decisions, including accusing his wife of an affair and hitting her. LaMotta continues making poor choices over the course of his career and it ends up costing him everything. Raging Bull is so fascinating because it charts the rise and fall of one of the greatest boxers in the history of the sport. Too bad the man couldn’t live up to the legend.

1. Rocky

Show of hands from anyone who recreated this scene in Philly.

Honestly, it wasn’t a matter of deciding that Rocky was going to get the number one spot on here, but which Rocky. Of course, one is a masterpiece that won the Academy Award for Best Picture the year it came out and has earned spots on countless of top movies lists. Rocky IV though has Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the scariest “Russian” to appear on-screen and is one of the most patriotic movies ever made. For this list, I had to go with the original Rocky because it’s just such an incredible film. Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) isn’t the brightest guy and doesn’t have a lot going for him. However, when he’s given a once in a lifetime opportunity, he refuses to let it slip by no matter how high the odds are stacked against him. That’s why Rocky was an easy pick for the number one spot on this list of boxing movies.

Honorable Mention: Real Steel

Look, boxing movies featuring humans are all well and good, but they’re nowhere near as cool as watching two robots duking it out. Hugh Jackman stars in this futuristic film in which boxing gave way to MMA which gave way to robot-boxing. Like most boxing movies, this is still an underdog flick, but this time you’re rooting for the little robot that could.

Those are my picks for the best boxing movies of all time. Of course, there are lots of them out there, and if you think I missed one you should let me know in the comments below. As always, I’ll be updating this list as new and improved boxing movies hits the big screen. So, don’t forget to check back from time to time to see how the rankings might change!

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