Aging prizefighters and longtime pals Cesar Dominguez (Banderas) and Vince Boudreau (Harrelson) always regretted not getting one last shot. Out of the blue, such an opportunity comes their way — except it is to fight each other.
L'histoire retrace la carrière de Mohamed Ali, de sa victoire aux Jeux olympiques de Rome à sa reconquête de son titre de champion face à George Foreman, en passant par sa conversion à l'Islam et à son refus d'incorporation dans l'armée.
James "The Grim Reaper" Roper (Damon Wayans), the undefeated heavyweight boxing champ of the world, defeats his latest challenger with ease and visits an after-party thrown by the Rev. Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson), a conniving and manipulative businessman who also acts as Roper's fight promoter. The Sultan relays some bad news to everyone: The fight was a financial flop. He deduces the reason that boxing events have become far less profitable is because audience members are sick of watching only black boxers fight each other. The Sultan predicts that a white contender, even one without a viable chance of winning, would create a huge payday for all involved in the fight (citing the Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney battle in 1982 and the playing of the race card in that instance as a precedent), and he vows to either find or "create" a white contender in no time at all.
Todd Howard (Jason Bateman), the cousin of Scott Howard, has recently been accepted into Hamilton University on a full athletic scholarship on the recommendation of Coach Bobby Finstock (Paul Sand), who was Scott's basketball coach at Beacontown High. Finstock's hope is that Todd has the family genes to become a werewolf and turn Finstock's new struggling boxing team into championship contenders. Having never been much good at sports, and because he is more interested in being a veterinarian, Todd is certain that Finstock has the wrong guy. During a meet and greet reception of school alumni, Todd has his first "wolf-out" while dancing with a seductive hostess. At first, Todd is horrified by his "family affliction", and fellow students begin to harass him. Then, during his first boxing match, after nearly getting knocked out, Todd has his second "wolf-out" only this time he is able to display his supernatural agility and strength and has a dramatic come from behind victory, thus earning the admiration of the students as well as the strict Dean Dunn (John Astin).
Set in the 1930s, Tim Conway is Bags, an underdog boxer and Don Knotts as his dim-witted sidekick/manager Shake are out to save a gym and become stooges for a gangster (Robin Clarke) who decides to take advantage of the two losers: he sets Bags up for a big championship match against a bruiser nicknamed "The Butcher" (Michael LaGuardia). At stake is more than the one-sided match, the duo's friend Pop Morgan (David Wayne) has bet all he has on Bags; he needs money to save his gym from the clutches of the gangster.
At a young age, Jackie Kallen learns about boxing with her father and uncle in a small gym. Later, she becomes the assistant to a Cleveland boxing promoter. Her boss then begins doing business with Sam LaRocca, a sports manager, during a middleweight championship fight.
Harry Fabian (De Niro) is a fast-talking, two-bit New York lawyer who hangs out at a bar called Boxers, owned by Phil (Gorman) and his wife Helen (Lange). Harry has been having an affair with Helen, who dreams of setting up her own bar and leaving Phil. At the bar, he spots an article in the New York Post about a man who was pummeled by a boxer. He calls the man on Phil's phone and pitches a lawsuit against the boxer on the grounds that his fists are legally considered weapons. The fighter is promoted by Ira "Boom Boom" Grossman (King), who tries to muscle Harry off the idea of suing his boxer. The case is promptly dismissed by the judge, who knows that it is baseless.
À la fin des années 1980, le boxeur Vinny Pazienza est au sommet de son art. Adulé, il enchaine les victoires à chaque combat. Un terrible accident de voiture va cependant remettre en cause toute sa carrière. Vinny est très grièvement blessé et se retrouve partiellement paralysé. Les médecins lui annoncent qu'il pourra un jour remarcher, mais qu'il ne devra plus jamais boxer. Vinny ne peut accepter ce diagnostic et va alors se tourner vers l'entraineur Kevin Rooney, pour recommencer à combattre. Contre l'avis de tous, Vinny va tout faire pour remonter sur le ring.
The film revolves around Chang Ka-pil (Lee Moon-sik) in his 40s, who leads an ordinary life with his adorable wife and their 17-year-old daughter, Dami (Kim So-eun). He faces a crisis when his daughter is sexually assaulted by a high school boxing star from a rich, well-connected family and he finds no help from the school or police authorities.
En 1968, le boxeur panaméen Roberto Durán, surnommé « mains de pierre », commence sa carrière professionnelle, à l'âge de 16 ans. Il ne se retira qu'en 2002... alors âgé de 50 ans !
Chaney (Charles Bronson), a mysterious, down-on-his luck drifter during the Great Depression, arrives in town in the boxcar of a freight train. He comes upon a bare-knuckled street fight run by gamblers. After the bout, he approaches one of the fight's organizers, the fast-talking "Speed" (James Coburn), and asks Speed to set up a fight. Betting his few dollars on himself, Chaney wins with a single punch.
Gabriel Caine (James Woods), a con man, is released from prison in Winfield, Georgia and immediately gets to work on his next scam. Caine and his partner, Fitz (Oliver Platt), travel to a small town not far from the prison: Diggstown, a city obsessed with boxing.
The officials of a city unveil a new statue, only to find The Tramp sleeping on it. They shoo him away and he wanders the streets, destitute and homeless, and is soon tormented by two newsboys. He happens upon a beautiful Flower Girl (Virginia Cherrill), not realizing at first that she is blind, and buys a flower. Just when she is about to give him his change, a man gets into a nearby luxury car and is driven away, making her think that the Tramp has departed. The Tramp tiptoes away.
Well-meaning and mild-mannered milkman Burleigh Sullivan (Kaye) meets Polly Pringle (Mayo), a beautiful, but out-of-work, singer, whilst on his rounds early in the morning. He tries to get her a job at the club where his sister Susie (Vera-Ellen) is performing, but gets the sack for his trouble. Whilst meeting Susie after the show, he sees her being molested by drunken boxer 'Speed' McFarlane and his bodyguard 'Spider'. In the fracas, Speed is knocked out and his manager, Gabby Sloan, is furious.
In the 1920s, Sean Thornton (John Wayne), an Irish-born American from Pittsburgh, travels to Ireland to reclaim his family's farm and his birthplace in Inisfree. He meets and falls in love with the fiery Mary Kate Danaher (Maureen O'Hara), the sister of the bullying, loud-mouthed landowner Squire "Red" Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen). Danaher, who had wanted the farm himself, is angry that the Widow Tillane (herself angered by Danaher's admission that he had discussed her in the local pub) accepts Sean's bid, and retaliates by refusing consent for his sister to marry. Several town locals, including the Catholic priest, Father Lonergan (Ward Bond), conspire to trick him into believing that the wealthy Widow Tillane (Mildred Natwick) wants to marry him, but only if Mary Kate is no longer living in his house. After learning the truth on Sean and Mary Kate's wedding day, an enraged Will refuses to give his sister her dowry which is made up of a large sum of money and her family possessions passed down from her mother.