Boxing
| Title | Year | Genre | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph | 1894 | Documentary | Silent film |
| Boxing Match; or, Glove Contest | 1896 | Documentary | Silent film |
| Battling Butler | 1926 | Comedy | Silent film |
| The Champ | 1931 | Drama | Story of a young boy and his love for a doomed ex-boxer. Academy Award for Wallace Beery. |
| Winner Take All | 1932 | Drama | Washed-up Jimmy Kane (James Cagney) fights again to earn money for a young widow. |
| The Big Timer | 1932 | Comedy | Cooky Bradford ends up fighting for, and falling for, his manager's daughter. |
| The Bermondsey Kid | 1933 | Drama | A British newsboy ends up in a fight contest against a friend. |
| The Prizefighter and the Lady | 1933 | Romantic Comedy | Real-life boxer Max Baer co-stars in a glove story with Myrna Loy. |
| Excuse My Glove | 1936 | Comedy | A meek British man accepts a dare to step into a boxing ring at a fair. |
| The Milky Way | 1936 | Comedy | A milkman (Harold Lloyd) who can deliver a punch becomes an overnight sensation. |
| Prison Shadows | 1936 | Drama | Out on parole, a boxer called "Killer" ends up with most of his opponents dead. |
| Keep Fit | 1937 | Comedy | A department store employee (George Formby) takes up boxing. |
| Kid Galahad | 1937 | Comedy | Edward G. Robinson turns a young bellhop into a boxer. |
| Golden Boy | 1939 | Drama | A promising violinist (William Holden) risks his hands by prizefighting. |
| There Ain't No Justice | 1939 | Drama | An aspiring young boxer (Jimmy Hanley) discovers the corruption that operates around the sport. |
| City for Conquest | 1940 | Drama | James Cagney as a fighter who is blinded in the ring. |
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan | 1941 | Comedy | Remade in 1978 as Heaven Can Wait, but with American football as the backdrop instead of boxing. |
| Knockout | 1941 | Drama | Arrogant boxer Johnny Rocket (Arthur Kennedy) has a manipulative manager. |
| Bowery Blitzkrieg | 1941 | Comedy | The East Side Kids end up in Golden Gloves bouts in this Bowery Boys tale. |
| Gentleman Jim | 1942 | Biographical | Light-hearted biopic, with Errol Flynn as heavyweight champ James J. Corbett. |
| The Great John L. | 1945 | Biographical | Boston strong boy John L. Sullivan wins the belt, battles the bottle. |
| The Kid from Brooklyn | 1946 | Comedy | Remake of 1936 milkman tale, this time with Danny Kaye. |
| Body and Soul | 1947 | Film noir | John Garfield ring drama about a boxer involved with corrupt promoters. |
| Whiplash | 1948 | Film noir | A painter adopts the ring name "Mike Angelo" when he fights for a sadistic club owner. |
| The Set-Up | 1949 | Film noir | A has-been boxer's manager bets on him to lose, with dire consequences if he doesn't. |
| Champion | 1949 | Film noir | An arrogant fighter (Kirk Douglas) makes it to the top, alienating those who care about him. |
| Duke of Chicago | 1949 | Comedy | Chicago's retired Jim Brody makes a comeback against champ Killer Bronski. |
| Right Cross | 1950 | Romance | June Allyson takes over dad's fight promotions, handles boxer Ricardo Montalbán. |
| The Golden Gloves Story | 1950 | Drama | An amateur boxer falls in love with a referee's daughter. |
| The Quiet Man | 1952 | Romance | A visiting American ex-boxer (John Wayne) meets an Irish lass (Maureen O'Hara) and literally has to fight for her. |
| The Fighter | 1952 | Drama | A story by Jack London about a fighter during the 1910 Mexican rebellion. |
| The Square Ring | 1952 | Drama | British film about one night's events inside a boxing arena. |
| Flesh and Fury | 1952 | Drama | A deaf boxer (Tony Curtis) wins the title, undergoes an operation so he can hear. |
| The Joe Louis Story | 1953 | Biographical | The life and career of the longtime champ, played by Coley Wallace. |
| Off Limits | 1953 | Comedy | A boxer (Mickey Rooney) is drafted into the Army, so his manager (Bob Hope) enlists. |
| It's Always Fair Weather | 1953 | Musical | Fight manager Gene Kelly discovers his contender is about to take a dive. |
| The Harder They Fall | 1956 | Film noir | A former sportswriter (Humphrey Bogart) works for a mobster who fixes fights. |
| Somebody Up There Likes Me | 1956 | Drama | Based on the life of Rocky Graziano, played by Paul Newman. |
| The Square Jungle | 1956 | Drama | A grocery clerk (Tony Curtis) fights his way to the middleweight title. |
| World in My Corner | 1956 | Drama | New Jersey boy (Audie Murphy) seeks fame, fortune to impress millionaire's daughter. |
| Monkey on My Back | 1957 | Biographical | Barney Ross's boxing career leaves him with a morphine habit. |
| Requiem for a Heavyweight | 1962 | Drama | A punchy fighter (Anthony Quinn) is betrayed by his manager (Jackie Gleason). |
| Kid Galahad | 1962 | Musical | A young Catskills car mechanic (Elvis Presley) turns out to pack quite a punch. |
| Legendary Champions | 1968 | Documentary | Harry Chapin's look at boxers of yesteryear. |
| The Great White Hope | 1970 | Romantic Drama | Based on Jack Johnson, a story about black prizefighter "Jack Jefferson" in early 20th Century, with Oscar-nominated performances by James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander. |
| Fat City | 1972 | Drama | A broke, broken-down fighter (Stacy Keach) tries a comeback as a young one (Jeff Bridges) learns the ropes. |
| Hard Times | 1975 | Drama | Illegal bare-knuckle bouts in Louisiana, starring Charles Bronson. |
| Let's Do It Again | 1975 | Comedy | Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier as Atlanta men who rig a match for a good cause. |
| Rocky | 1976 | Drama | Academy Award winner about a Philadelphia pug (Sylvester Stallone) who gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. |
| The Greatest | 1977 | Drama | Biographical film with Muhammad Ali as himself. |
| Every Which Way but Loose | 1978 | Comedy | A truck driver (Clint Eastwood) with a pet orangutan takes on opponents in bare-knuckle street brawls for money. |
| Matilda | 1978 | Comedy | A promoter (Elliott Gould) pits a man against a boxing kangaroo. |
| Movie Movie | 1978 | Comedy | Spoof of old boxing films, with Harry Hamlin as a palooka managed by George C. Scott. |
| The Champ | 1979 | Drama | Remake of '30s melodrama about a child who worships a has-been boxer (Jon Voight). |
| The Main Event | 1979 | Comedy | A headstrong woman (Barbra Streisand) ends up managing a cocky boxer (Ryan O'Neal). |
| Penitentiary | 1979 | Drama | Blaxploitation story set in a prison, featuring Leon Isaac Kennedy. |
| Rocky II | 1979 | Drama | Rocky Balboa gets a rematch with Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). |
| Raging Bull | 1980 | Drama | Biographical film about Jake LaMotta, with Oscar-winning performance by Robert De Niro. |
| Any Which Way You Can | 1980 | Comedy | In sequel to 1978 film, mobsters coax bare-knuckle brawler Clint Eastwood into one more fight. |
| Body and Soul | 1981 | Drama | Loosely based on 1947 version, with Leon Isaac Kennedy and then-wife Jayne Kennedy. |
| Penitentiary II | 1982 | Drama | Blaxploitation, sequel to 1979 film. |
| Honeyboy | 1982 | Drama | Made for TV story with Erik Estrada and Morgan Fairchild. |
| Rocky III | 1982 | Drama | Now the champ, Rocky is challenged by vicious Clubber Lang, played by Mr. T. |
| Dempsey | 1983 | Biographical | Treat Williams stars in made-for-TV biopic of Jack Dempsey. |
| Tough Enough | 1983 | Drama | A "toughman" tournament is entered by a Texas musician (Dennis Quaid) who needs the money. |
| The Sting II | 1983 | Comedy | Con man Jackie Gleason arranges a fixed fight to double-cross a couple of crooks. |
| Boxer | 1984 | Drama | Indian film |
| Rocky IV | 1985 | Drama | Rocky goes to the Soviet Union to battle Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). |
| Streets of Gold | 1986 | Drama | Two amateur boxers are trained by a Russian (Klaus Maria Brandauer). |
| Teen Wolf Too | 1987 | Comedy | Sequel to werewolf comedy, this time starring Jason Bateman. |
| Heart | 1987 | Drama | A punchy fighter gets set up by a shady promoter (Steve Buscemi). |
| Split Decisions | 1988 | Drama | Gene Hackman as a trainer and father of two totally different sons. |
| Triumph of the Spirit | 1988 | Drama | In Auschwitz concentration camp, a Jewish boxer (Willem Dafoe) fights for his life. |
| Homeboy | 1988 | Drama | Mickey Rourke as a down-and-out boxer who risks death in the ring. |
| Rocky V | 1990 | Drama | A bankrupt Rocky Balboa tries training an up-and-coming heavyweight (real-life boxer Tommy Morrison). |
| Diggstown | 1992 | Drama | A con man (James Woods) makes a wager that his fighter can defeat 10 men in 24 hours. |
| Gladiator | 1992 | Drama | Cuba Gooding, Jr. and James Marshall as young men taking part in illegal fights. |
| Night and the City | 1992 | Drama | A shyster lawyer (Robert De Niro) gets a mobster's brother to help him become a boxing promoter. |
| Tyson | 1995 | Biographical | HBO biopic of Mike Tyson (played by Michael Jai White), co-starring George C. Scott. |
| The Great White Hype | 1996 | Comedy | An out-of-shape champ steps into the ring against an out-of-his-league chump. |
| When We Were Kings | 1996 | Documentary | Chronicles 1974 fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, won Academy Award. |
| The Boxer | 1997 | Drama | Daniel Day-Lewis as an Irish boxer recently released from prison. |
| Don King: Only in America | 1997 | Biographical | An ex-con becomes a famous promoter, starring Ving Rhames as King. |
| Play It to the Bone | 1999 | Comedy | Best friends (Antonio Banderas, Woody Harrelson) must battle each other in Las Vegas. |
| Rocky Marciano | 1999 | Biographical | television film with Jon Favreau portraying the undefeated champ. |
| On the Ropes | 1999 | Documentary | A coach takes three young boxers under his wing. |
| The Hurricane | 1999 | Biographical | Fight career and false imprisonment of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, played by Denzel Washington. |
| Girlfight | 2000 | Drama | A troubled teenage girl tries to become a boxer. |
| The Opponent | 2000 | Drama | An abused woman learns to defend herself, then turns pro. |
| King of the World | 2000 | Biographical | television film with Terrence Howard as the young Cassius Clay. |
| Price of Glory | 2000 | Drama | A trainer (Jimmy Smits) teaches three of his sons how to fight. |
| Ali | 2001 | Biographical | A dramatization of Muhammad Ali's success and controversy, starring Will Smith. |
| Undisputed | 2002 | Drama | Fictional story of a heavyweight champ who fights a fellow prison inmate. Ving Rhames and Wesley Snipes. |
| Joe and Max | 2002 | Biographical | The 1930s rivalry between heavyweights Joe Louis and Max Schmeling. |
| Beautiful Boxer | 2002 | Drama | Biographical film about a transsexual fighter from Thailand. |
| Million Dollar Baby | 2004 | Drama | Oscar-winner about trainer (Clint Eastwood) who reluctantly teaches a woman (Hilary Swank) to fight. |
| Against the Ropes | 2004 | Drama | Based on a true story; Meg Ryan as the new manager of a young fighter (Omar Epps). |
| The Calcium Kid | 2004 | Mockumentary | Orlando Bloom in a satire of boxing films. |
| Cinderella Man | 2005 | Biographical | Based on the Depression-era comeback of James J. Braddock, played by Russell Crowe. |
| Fighting Tommy Riley | 2005 | Drama | A boxer and a gay manager clash, with tragic consequences. |
| Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story | 2005 | Documentary | A look back at welterweight champ who once killed an opponent in the ring. |
| Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson | 2005 | Documentary | Emmy-winning film by Ken Burns about long-ago heavyweight champion Jack Johnson's battles in and out of the ring. |
| Pacquiao: The Movie | 2006 | Biographical | A look at the life and career of Manny Pacquiao. |
| Rocky Balboa | 2006 | Drama | Sixth and last in Rocky series, with widower Rocky stepping into ring one more time. |
| Undisputed II: Last Man Standing | 2006 | Action | Sequel to 2002 film but with entirely new cast. |
| Annapolis | 2006 | Drama | Boxing story set at Naval Academy starring James Franco. |
| Jump In! | 2007 | Family | Disney Channel comedy about a Golden Gloves boxer's kid who enters a rope-jumping contest. |
| Poor Boy's Game | 2007 | Drama | Tempers and racial tensions flare in Nova Scotia boxing drama, starring Danny Glover. |
| Apne | 2007 | Drama | Bollywood film. |
| Miracle on 1st Street | 2007 | Comedy | South Korea film. |
| Muay Thai Chaiya | 2007 | Drama | Thailand film. |
| Resurrecting the Champ | 2007 | Drama | A sportswriter believes a homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson) to be a former boxing star. |
| The Hammer | 2007 | Comedy | A 40-year-old carpenter (Adam Carolla) gets an unexpected chance to make the U.S. Olympic boxing team. |
| Blue Blood | 2007 | Documentary | Five Oxford students attempt to make the Amateur Boxing Club. |
| Muhammad and Larry | 2009 | Documentary | Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Examines the 1980 fight between Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes and its impact on both men. |
| Phantom Punch | 2009 | Biographical | Ving Rhames' portrayal of former heavyweight champ Sonny Liston. |
| The Fighter | 2010 | Biographical | Story of Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). Oscars for Bale and Melissa Leo (playing their mother). |
| Max Schmeling | 2010 | Biographical | A look back at 1930s German heavyweight who twice fought Joe Louis. |
| One Night in Vegas | 2010 | Documentary | Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Explores the friendship between boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur, leading up to Shakur's murder in 1996 shortly after attending Tyson's fight with Bruce Seldon in Las Vegas. |
| Lahore | 2010 | Drama | |
| The Real Rocky | 2011 | Documentary | Made for TV as a follow-up to ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Profiles Chuck Wepner, the real-life inspiration for Rocky Balboa. |
| Knockout | 2011 | Drama | A janitor (Steve Austin) teaches boxing skills to a student who's up against bullies. |
| Real Steel | 2011 | Science fiction | Boxing robots, starring Hugh Jackman. |
| Klitschko | 2011 | Documentary | Lives of Ukraine brothers who both became world heavyweight champions. |
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Famous quotes containing the word boxing:
“... to paint with oil paints for the first time ... is like trying to make something exquisitely accurate and microscopically clear out of mud pies with boxing gloves on.”
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)
“I can entertain the proposition that life is a metaphor for boxing—for one of those bouts that go on and on, round following round, jabs, missed punches, clinches, nothing determined, again the bell and again and you and your opponent so evenly matched it’s impossible not to see that your opponent is you.... Life is like boxing in many unsettling respects. But boxing is only like boxing.”
—Joyce Carol Oates (b. 1938)