It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson is a 1993 film made by acclaimed American documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Though Tyson was in jail serving a sentence for rape, Kopple used existing interviews with the boxer, as well as her own extensive interviews with those closest to Tyson, to explore the man's history. The film traces Tyson's story from his troubled and tumultuous upbringing, through his rapid ascendancy in the ranks of the boxing world and his subsequent struggle with the trappings of fame. Fallen Champ earned Barbara Kopple a Directors Guild of America award as Best Documentary Director of 1993.
As boxing's popularity wanes, three fighters at different stages of their career make sacrifices to pursue their dreams of becoming champions.
A behind-the-scenes documentary detailing the biggest night in heavyweight boxing for a generation; Oleksandr Usyk & Tyson Fury’s first meet.
Experimental film fragment made with the Edison-Dickson-Heise experimental horizontal-feed kinetograph camera and viewer, using 3/4-inch wide film.
Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.
'One Night: Joshua vs. Ruiz' is a comprehensive look at the night Andy Ruiz pulled off the biggest boxing upset in decades.
The story of Jack Johnson, the first African American Heavyweight boxing champion.
10 years before the debut of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In 1979, Bill Viola and Frank Caliguri dreamed up a contest pitting barroom bigmouths against wrestlers, martial artists, boxers, bouncers and brawlers, billed as no-holds-barred new type of competitive fighting. When the fights succeeded beyond their wildest expectations, they were swept up in a chain of events that ended in the first mixed-martial arts ban in the nation. “Tough Guys” chronicles the inception of Caliguri and Viola’s first bouts and the colorful, crazy cast of fighters who made them a hit as well as the politicians who brought it all crashing down. The film brings to life a moment when the national martial arts craze was building to a crescendo as the economies of Pennsylvania steel towns were plummeting to levels of unemployment never seen, breeding desperate men looking for a chance to prove their worth and make some money in the ring.
El Pantera is a documentary film that chronicles the rise of Mexican UFC star Yair Rodriguez as he strives to become the first ever Mexican born UFC champion.
'Day of the Fight' shows Irish-American middleweight boxer Walter Cartier during the height of his career, on the day of a fight with black middleweight Bobby James, which took place on April 17, 1950.
A look back at the career of Greg Haugen, considered one of boxing's 'tough guys' from the 1980s. Fighting out of Tough Man Contests in Alaska, the undersized Haugen would win all of his matches before transitioning in to the sport of boxing. As an underdog in the majority of his significant bouts, Haugen would make an unlikely rise in becoming a two-time world champion.
RTL documentary about the career of Henry Maske.
On the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, Mike Tyson, the WBC heavyweight champion, attempted to take Bruce Seldon’s WBA title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At this point in his career, Tyson’s fights had become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, where the ever present hype of the professional boxing scene would come face to face with the worlds of big business, Hollywood, and hip hop. Sitting ringside was controversial rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur and Tyson were friends, a feeling of kinship linked them as each rose to stardom from poverty only to be thrown in prison. Following Tyson’s victory, Shakur and “Iron Mike” were to celebrate at an after party, but the rap star never arrived. Shakur was brutally gunned down later that night, and the scene in Las Vegas quickly turned from would-be celebratory revelry to ill fated and inopportune tragedy.
The brutal trilogy of light-welterweight fights between Arturo 'Thunder' Gatti and 'Irish' Mickey Ward is the focus of this documentary.
The study of crazy brilliance and flamboyant sincerity. a.k.a. Cassius Clay presents a fascinating look at the incredible life and achievements of one of the most courageous, outspoken and charismatic figures of boxing: Muhammad Ali. Born Cassius Clay in 1942, Ali soon rose to become a renowned athlete, an articulate author and a compelling political; leader. Audacious, ambitious and totally fearless, Ali became a symbol of pride, a legend of hope and one of the most extraordinary cultural icons of the 20th century.
Christy Martin broke boundaries and noses as she rose in the boxing world, but her public persona belied personal demons, abuse and a threat on her life.
The life and times of Muhammed Ali shown through the lens of his numerous appearances on The Dick Cavett Show. The film features new interviews with Dick Cavett, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Larry Merchant, as well as archival material from the Cavett Show.
Chuck Wepner is a liquor salesman from Bayonne, N.J., who drives a Cadillac with “Champ” vanity plates. A former New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion, he took abuse from Sonny Liston, got his nose broken by Muhammad Ali, and inspired Sylvester Stallone to write “Rocky” which won three Academy Awards. Wepner was left out of the “Rocky” glory, and his career took turn after strange turn as he worked to stay in the spotlight: he went on to fight Andre the Giant as “The Assassin” and boxed a 900 pound bear. Twice.
Legendary Mike Tyson was one of the most feared fighters in boxing. By age 19, his superlative record of wins earned him the nickname "Kid Dynamite." Over the next two years, Tyson knocked out 19 opponents in a row, eventually becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history. His winning streak expanded to a dazzling 37-0 before Buster Douglas, an 11-1 underdog, TKO'd Tyson in the 10th round in one of boxing's biggest upsets. Includes 19 Thrill-Packed Fights! Tyson vs. Mercedes, Tyson vs. Spain, Tyson vs. Alderson, Tyson vs. Johnson, Tyson vs. Long, Tyson vs. Colay, Tyson vs. Benjamin, Tyson vs. Richardson, Tyson vs. Scaff, Tyson vs. Young, Tyson vs. Jameson, Tyson vs. Ferguson, Tyson vs. Zouski, Tyson vs. Tillis, Tyson vs. Berbick, Tyson vs. Holmes, Tyson vs. Spinks, Tyson vs. Bruno, Tyson vs. Douglas