My Favorite Boxing Movies

The title of this post should have ended with According to Ja Dawson. You typically find most disclaimers at the end of an article, but I will let you know now: "this is my personal list and does not express or represent the views of any film rating agency or program." If you came here looking for Ebert & Roper-like analysis, you came to the wrong place. If you came here to check out the opinion of a fight fan turned neophyte film critic, then this post is for you.

A lot of films came to mind, but I decided to narrow my list to a final four. I ranked the movies based on the: authenticity of the character portrayals, overall storyline, and, last but not least, the realism of the fighting scenes. If you are like me, this last aspect (or lack thereof) can totally ruin a potentially good boxing movie. Now that you know what’s behind my list, check out my favorite boxing films below.

Other boxing films worth mentioning are: Denzel Washington’s stirring portrayal of Ruben Carter in The Hurricane, Russel Crowe’s convincing depiction of "everyman" heavyweight champion Jim Braddock in Cinderella Man, and Sylvester Stallone’s latest installment in the Rocky saga, Rocky Balboa.