So you may have heard a few weeks ago about a little thing called Mayweather vs. McGregor. It was an MMA champion entering the world of boxing to bring one of the all-time greats out of retirement. In true boxing form it was a bit of a circus with each side telling their own narrative: a proven champ comes out of retirement to quell the insults of a loudmouth challenger, vs. the underdog training for a different sport to make a name for himself and ensure the welfare of his family. All of which got me thinking about the great boxing stories of all time, which naturally led me to the best boxing movies of all time...

Rocky
It all begins with the 1976 Best Picture winner and total underdog in every way: Rocky. This classic film spawned seven zeitgeisty sequels so it’s easy to forget what a beloved drama the original Rocky was when it first hit the major screen. The truest underdog story of a local boxer given a once in a lifetime chance at greatness, yet knowing he’s outclassed and doing his damnedest to go the distance. Sylvester Stallone was a nobody actor whose life at the time was harder than his character’s: living in a closet-space of a bedroom and having to sell his dog in order to afford food. He was offered huge sums of money to sell his script, but he wanted to star in it. He held out, was able to buy back his dog (who appears in the film) and birthed a career that spanned decades to come.

This 1980 classic came about when a wiry Robert DeNiro pitched his pal Martin Scorsese on adapting the autobiography of Jake La Motta, a middleweight champion, stand-up comedian, and serial domestic abuser. Scorsese didn’t shy away from the dark material nor from the brutality of the ring, instead he shot it in glorious black and white. DeNiro gained an astonishing 60+ pounds for the latter part of the movie, solidly cementing himself as the new torchbearer of the Method Acting baton. This movie was also the first film to be selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in its first year of eligibility.

Million Dollar Baby
I’ve tried to avoid listing movies like David O’Russell’s character masterpiece The Fighter, that are less boxing movies and are more boxing-adjacent dramas. But I really couldn't avoid adding Million Dollar Baby to this list despite its solid membership in the latter category. As a foray into the world of female boxing, old age, and heartbreak, this four-time Academy Award winning film simply cannot be missed.

Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is truly one of the most overlooked movies of all time. It got great reviews, features Russell Crowe’s most vulnerable performance as boxing legend Jim Braddock and stellar supporting performances by Renee Zellweger and Paul Giamatti, and was handily directed by Ron Howard. For whatever reason it was just passed over during awards season. Nevertheless, this movie tells the incredible true story of a boxer plagued by hand injuries who lost everything during the Great Depression and was forced to work on the docks to support his family. Through a one-time exhibition bout (that served as the inspiration for Rocky), Braddock was given a second chance at the heavyweight title, and his trajectory inspired a broken nation back onto its feet.

Creed
Each generation of new boxing movies changes the way we view boxing simply by its cinematic portrayal, and never was that more true than in Ryan Coogler’s sophomore masterpiece, Creed. In the vein of the modern rebootquel, Creed tells the story of Rocky Balboa’s frenemy’s son on his quest to make a name for himself and prove to the world that he isn’t a mistake. Featuring Michael B. Jordan's impossible physic, the lovely Tessa Thompson, and the Italian Stallion himself, it doesn’t get more rousing than this.

When We Were Kings
I had to debate whether to include this unbelievable documentary or Michael Mann’s 2001 masterpiece, Ali, and despite my love for Will Smith, I had to go with 1996’s When We Were Kings. This thrilling, Academy Award-winning film documents the lead-up to the great 1974 Heavyweight Championship between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman known as “The Rumble in Jungle”. You get a window into each fighter’s training camp and a window into each fighter’s mind as they prepare for the biggest boxing match of their lives. The documentary took 22 years to fund and finish, and both fighters displayed the buried hatchet when they joined the creators on stage to accept the Academy Award for Best Documentary