In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's (Max Riemelt) boxing skills earn him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA), a high school that serves as an entry to the Nazi elite. His father, a career factory worker who despises the Nazis, flatly refuses to allow Friedrich to enroll. Friedrich, who sees the school as his ticket to university and a better life, forges his father's signature on the permission form and leaves during the night. He makes his way to the town of Allenstein, where the school is located, getting a ride from passing cars or trucks when possible and walking the rest of the way. Friedrich's forged papers are overlooked when he arrives, and he is greatly impressed in his first day at Allenstein.
Arturo Ortega, a man with enduring aspirations of being a competitor in professional boxing. While Arturo had the intellect, ambition, and agility to be a professional, his career proved to be a short one, and, after a living out his fifteen minutes of fame, he’s washed up. However, Arturo has instilled his passion for boxing in his three sons, who have grown up learning all about the world of prizefighting. The three boys begin competing in the ring, with Arturo as their manager and coach, but Johnny swiftly displays so much promise that other managers and promoters want to take over his contract and put make him the next boxing champion. Arturo feels let down when Sonny decides that he wants to work with another manager, while his other two sons rail against Sonny for turning his back on his father and hope Arturo has the same conviction in their talents in the ring.
Rocky Barbella (Paul Newman) grandit à New York à la fin des années 1930, au sein d'une bande de petits délinquants. Il fait plusieurs séjours en maison de correction. Déserteur de l'armée américaine, il intègre la salle d'un manager de boxe (Everett Sloane). Repris par les autorités, il est incarceré dans une prison militaire. Cette forte tête est prise en main par un sergent, et lui fait comprendre qu'il a de l'or dans les poings et qu'il vaut mieux mettre sa force et son courage en devenant un vrai boxeur qu'au service du mal. Rendu à la vie civile, il se consacre entièrement à la carrière de boxeur professionnel et gravit progressivement tous les échelons jusqu'à devenir champion du monde sous le nom de Rocky Graziano.
Erik Kernan Jr. (Hartnett) is a young fledgling journalist employed by The Denver Times. Frustrated, Kernan struggles with his supervising editor Ralph Metz (Alda) concerning rudimentary coverage over his sports related articles. Metz views Kernan's editorial work as bland and uninspiring considering his recently deceased father was a famous sportscaster. Kernan is separated from his wife, Joyce (Morris), who also works at the newspaper, and worries that he might be losing touch with their young son, Teddy (Goyo).
Tommy McCoy is a tough New York City boy, close to his dad, Brian, a performer in vaudeville. One night while his dad's doing a song and dance for the audience as part of a boxing event, Tommy accepts a challenge to step into the ring. He knocks out his opponent.
Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone earned his parole from jail by winning a prison boxing tournament. All Gordone wants to do is start a peaceful life, but a condition of his release is that he work for a boxing promoter. Gordone has no interest in boxing and wants to live with his sister and her husband who support his desire to start over. However, when some of his enemies from prison escape and kill his girlfriend, Gordone changes his plans and returns to the ring.
Born in 1930 to a recently widowed Englishwoman on a homestead in rural Natal, little Peter Philip is schooled in the ways of England by his mother and the ways of Africa by a Zulu nanny (Nomadlozi Kubheka), whose son Tonderai is also his best friend. Their easy life is forever shattered, however, when the farm's cattle are claimed by rinderpest. PK's mother succumbs to a nervous breakdown, and he is sent away to a conservative Afrikaans boarding school while she recovers.
En 1974, à Kinshasa, capitale du Zaïre, a lieu une rencontre historique entre les deux poids lourds les plus reputés des Etats-Unis, Mohammed Ali, alias Cassius Clay, et George Foreman. A trente-deux ans, Ali va tenter de reconquérir le titre de champion du monde face à Foreman, vingt-cinq ans, auréolé de ses victoires sur Frazier et Norton. Le 30 octobre, le stade de Kinshasa ouvre ses grilles à 4 heures du matin.
Alik is an immigrant from the Soviet Union, but is not allowed on the Soviet national team because he is Jewish. One day he meets two young amateur boxers named Roland Jenkins and Timmi Boyle and begins to coach them.
Wally Hogan (Hope) has things going his way. He is the manager-trainer of Bullet Bradley (Stanley Clements), a fighter who has just won the lightweight championship. Life suddenly takes a not-so-happy turn, however, when Bullet gets drafted. Hogan's gangster partners persuade him to enlist and keep an eye on the fighter, who is subsequently declared psychologically unfit for the Army. Enter Herbert Tuttle (Mickey Rooney), a draftee eager to have Hogan turn him into a fighter. Hogan reluctantly agrees only after he discovers Tuttle's aunt is the beautiful singer (Marilyn Maxwell) at a nightclub. From then on it's a case of stringing Tuttle along while trying to get close to his aunt. To further complicate Hogan's life there is a rulebook Military Police Officer who tries to squash the shenanigans.
The drama charts the story of Midge Kelly (Kirk Douglas), a boxer who pushes himself to the top of his game by knocking out opponents and back-stabbing friends. He has no qualms about deceiving the various females he encounters and he eventually double-crosses Tommy Haley (Paul Stewart), the manager who found him and helped pave his road to fame.
Adolescent, Tommy McCoy a du mal à gagner quelques sous pour aider sa mère, l'argent étant souvent bu par son père Brian, un ancien acteur. Un jour qu'il bat son adversaire lors d'une bagarre, il est remarqué par le champion Johnny Martin, qui le sponsorise pour une tournée. Lorsque sa mère meurt, son père regrette son comportement mais continue à boire et à jouer.
Diana Guzman is a Brooklyn teenager whose hot temper gets her into trouble at school as she repeatedly starts fights with other students. Her frustration stems from her unhappy home life; she lives in a public housing estate with her brother Tiny and their single father, Sandro. Sandro pays for Tiny's boxing training in hopes of his becoming a professional boxer, although Tiny would prefer to be an artist. After visiting Tiny's gym and intervening in a spar to defend him, Diana asks the trainers to let her box, too. She is told she can train there, but not compete in actual fights. When she learns that she cannot afford coaching from Tiny's trainer, Hector Soto, she asks her father for an allowance but he tells her to get a job. She resorts to stealing his money instead and returns to the gym, where Hector begins to teach her the basics of boxing.
Pil-je is a gangster who has been sent by his bosses to evict the residents of a poor neighborhood on the edge of Seoul, so that their homes can make way for some new luxury apartments. But after he befriends some of the locals, including female boxer Myung-ran and a group of young children, he starts to have a change of heart.