Boxing movies initiate a beast in all of us, which shows their impact on our lives. The film’s sacrifices, training, and commitment motivate us to do more, even if the situation is terrible. Since the movie-making started, the boxing genre has never left.
The violence, battles, and related history make this genre more interesting. Mainstream popular cinema contains many biopics and slapstick comedies in the boxing genre. In this list of the 20 best boxing movies of all time, you will get all the above and some unknown facts.
20. I Am Ali (2014)
- Director: Clare Lewins
- Writer: Greg Hobden, Clare Lewins
- Cast: Muhammad Ali, Gene Kilroy, Hana Ali, Maryum Ali, Jim Brown
- IMDb Ratings: 7.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 64%
- Platforms Available: YouTube, Google Play Movies, and Amazon Prime with paid subscription
This movie showed us the real life of the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. It is a documentary that covers the whole mainstream life story of Muhammad Ali. The official release of the documentary was held on October 10, 2014.
This movie covers all the interviews, audio journals of professionals as well as the personal life of the legendary boxer. The film also included interviews with his son, ex-wife, daughter, and some of his fellow fighters.
19. Rocky III (1982)
- Director: Sylvester Stallone
- Writer: Sylvester Stallone
- Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young, Tony Burton
- IMDb Ratings: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 66%
- Platforms Available: Hulu and Amazon Prime with paid subscription
This movie is very famous and was directed by Sylvester Stallone himself. The famous song Eye of the Tiger was initially featured in this movie. The original release of the film was done on May 28, 1982.
This movie shows the struggle of Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone), who accepted a boxing challenge but failed to win. Then after that failure, he loses all of his fame and credibility, which leads him to rebuild his tactics and strategies—ultimately leading to his success.
18. Before The Fall (2004)
- Director: Dennis Gansel
- Writer: Dennis Gansel
- Cast: Max Riemelt, Tom Schilling, Dennis Gansel, Devid Striesow, Jonas Jagermeyr
- IMDb Ratings: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 67%
- Platforms Available: Netflix and HBO Max with paid subscription
This movie is a German movie and is initially in the German language. The movie story revolves around a boy named Friedrich Weimer. This boy was very good at boxing, which led him to gain a scholarship for admission to the National political academy. And during his training, he discovers several harsh truths about the brutal Nazi Academy.
17. Real Steel (2011)
- Director: Shawn Levy
- Writer: John Gatins and Leslie Bohem
- Cast: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo, Olga Fonda, Anthony Mackie
- IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 60%
- Platforms Available: SonyLiv, Hotstar, and Amazon Prime with paid subscription
This movie genre is entirely science fiction. And the movie is referenced from the short story “Steel,” written by Richard Matheson. The film shows a former boxer giving training to his robot for fighting a boxing match. This movie shows the era of high technology, where robots have replaced human beings.
The movie’s plot was unique, so many people praised this movie. But the real emotions were missing in the story. The only thing that made this movie on our list is its action scenes.
16. Ali (2001)
- Director: Michael Mann
- Writer: Gregory Allen Howard
- Cast: Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Michele, Ron Silver
- IMDb Ratings: 6.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 68%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime, YouTube, and PBS with paid subscription
Ali movie is among the most famous film starring Will Smith. This movie is a sports drama based on the life story of Muhammad Ali. Many movies in the boxing category are mainly based upon his life, as he is one of the legendary boxers. He is also a boxer with many controversies and struggles.
This boxing film can also be categorized among sports documentaries because it contains all the most minor things of Muhammad Ali’s life from start to end.
15. Rocky II (1979)
- Director: Sylvester Stallone
- Writer: Sylvester Stallone
- Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Paul McCrane, Sylvia Meals, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire
- IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 72%
- Platforms Available: Hulu with subscription
Rocky II is a successful sequel to the movie Rocky starring Sylvester Stallone. Sylvester Stallone is portrayed as a fighter. Sylvester Stallone has done lots of practice and hard work for all these movies. As in the film, the boxing matches shown are somewhat accurate; he used to do all his stunts alone.
Rocky II has many awards like the People’s Choice award for favorite movie and the Satellite Award for best boxing movie of all time. In this movie, Rocky Balboa loses the world champion Apollo Creed but earns respect because of his hard work. That leads to a rematch demand from Apollo. And after that, everything changed.
14. Jungleland (2019)
- Director: Max Winkler
- Writer: Bruce Springsteen
- Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Jack O’Connell, Jessica Barden, John Cullum
- IMDb Ratings: 6.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 74%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime and Netflix with a subscription
In this movie the real story of a person is shown who loses all his money and then fights a boxing match to regain all his stuff. The report of the movie highlights two brothers troubled by debts who accept one of the gangsters offers. And the offer is to fight boxing matches. And at the end, you will see how these boxing matches became their fight for their lives.
The movie is full of action and violence. The acting done by the lead actors is fantastic, and you will find everything accurate. The emotional scenes in the movie are done so perfectly that they can hit your soul, giving you goosebumps.
13. Bleed For This (2016)
- Director: Ben Younger
- Writer: Pippa Bianco and Ben Younger
- Cast: Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal
- IMDb Ratings: 6.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 70%
- Platforms Available: Vudu, iTunes, and Amazon Prime with paid subscription
This is one of the heart-touching boxing movies. The original release of the movie was done on November 18, 2016. The film shows the story of a boxer who had a fatal accident that paralyzed him. But he does not have up and hires someone who can train him so that he can fight the battle of his dream one last time.
This movie will make you cry and be motivated at the same. It will show you the struggle and the willingness to live normally, even after trauma. And as it is based on a true story of a boxer, it is inspiring for all of us.
12. China Heavyweight (2012)
- Director: Yung Chang
- Writer: XI Feng and Hannele Halm
- Cast: Ye Xinchun, Zongli He, Zhong Zhao
- IMDb Ratings: 6.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 82%
- Platforms Available: Vudu and Amazon Prime
This movie was released on January 20, 2012. The film highlights a person who is a boxing coach. This person discovers two teenagers with a rural background and trains them to become professional boxers. Meanwhile improvising their lives and their environment.
Everything is shown in this film as actually a Boxing documentary. This film is very intense, and the direction of the film is done very skillfully. I am making it one of the best boxing movies of all time.
11. The Hammer (2007)
- Director: Oren Kaplan
- Writer: Oren Kaplan
- Cast: Russell Harvard, Matt Hamill, Shoshannah Stern
- IMDb Ratings: 6.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 74%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime with paid subscription
The movie stars Matt Hamill, a deaf boxer who does not stop even after having a disability. This movie shows the struggle and pain behind every match that he played. Making him the NCAA champion and MMA champion three times.
This movie is also based on a true story. All the techniques and strategies shown in the film are proper and painful. That will make you emotional and inspired every time you watch it.
10. The Bleeder (2016)
- Director: Philippe Falardeau
- Writer: Jeff Feuerzeig, Liev Schreiber
- Cast: Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Elisabeth Moss, Jim Gaffigan
- IMDb Ratings: 6.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 81%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime with paid subscription
The Bleeder movie, also known as Chuck, is a story of an underdog boxing player. The story revolves around Chuck Wepner, a great player unknown to the world. Then he challenged Muhammad Ali in the boxing ring to get his deserved fame.
This story is honest about a heavyweight boxer with the same name. All the things shown in the movie are real. And the stunning performance of the actors in this movie makes it more interesting to watch.
9. Rocky Balboa (2006)
- Director: Sylvester Stallone
- Writer: Sylvester Stallone
- Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Lou DiBella, Burt Young, Antonio Tarver
- IMDb Ratings: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 77%
- Platforms Available: YouTube, Prime Video, and Hulu with a subscription
As Sylvester Stallone got famous for his acting career in the sports category, he went on making only these types of movies. The top film in his career is in the action and violence category. This movie is also from the Rocky franchise and is of the same genre but with a different story starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa.
The story shows a boxer who is now retired but is willing to play a boxing match. Therefore he chooses to play a virtual boxing match. In that virtual boxing match, he defeated a well-known world champion. He was leading toward another virtual boxing match. The story was unique and fresh in boxing cinema history. And it will indeed engage you till the end.
8. The Boxer (1997)
- Director: Jim Sheridan
- Writer: Terry George and Jim Sheridan
- Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson, Gerard McSorley
- IMDb Ratings: 7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 80%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vudu, and Redbox with subscription
The movie is exciting, with intense acting. He was starring Danny (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), a boxer and former IRA member. Danny was in jail for 14 years, and after release, he wanted to start a new life in Belfast City. But his past life continuously haunts him and does not let him rebuild his life.
The movie was released on December 31, 1997. And it became an instant hit on big screen cinema as the screenplay was done nicely and the casting was terrific. The movie was also nominated for many awards shows, like Golden Globe Award, Motion Picture Award, etc.
7. The Fighter (2010)
- Director: David O. Russell
- Writer: Eric Johnson, Paul Tamasy
- Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
- IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 91%
- Platforms Available: Google Play, iTunes, and Hulu with subscription
This movie highlights the story of Micky Ward (played by Mark Wahlberg), a struggling sportsperson changing his normal lifestyle into a fascinating one. And for that, he collides with his half-brother Dicky Eklund(played by Christian Bale). His half-brother was a cocaine addict, but he recovered.
This movie is unique compared to other boxing films as the story is fresh, and the scripting is fantastic. After the movie’s release, it got so much positive response from the people and became a successful hit.
6. Cinderella Man (2005)
- Director: Ron Howard
- Writer: Cliff Hollingsworth
- Cast: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Bruce McGill
- IMDb Ratings: 8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 80%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime and Hotstar with subscription
The movie shows a former boxer named Braddock (played by Russell Crowe), who lives a simple life in the United States. But when the great depression occurs, everything in his life changes, leading him back into the boxing ring. Upsetting his wife, who does not want him to fight. But, soon, everything got back to normal.
5. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Director: Fresh Uncle
- Writer: Paul Haggis
- Cast: Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Mike Colter, Fresh Uncle, Clint Eastwood
- IMDb Ratings: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 90%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime with paid subscription
The movie opens with Frankie (played by Clint Eastwood), a boxing coach who is slightly ill-tempered. Then, it shows that Frankie starts a new aspiring woman boxer named Maggie. During the training, the coach got impressed by Maggie’s skill and determination.
And it leads him to help her become the best boxer. Meanwhile, they both form a good bond with each other. This movie has created so many controversies, too, like the end of the film was disgusting.
4. Raging Bull (1980)
- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Writer: Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty
- IMDb Ratings: 8.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 94%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime and iTunes with subscription
The movie starts with a middleweight boxer Robert De Niro as Jake LeMotta, who struggles to get a rank at a boxing title. But his personal life and his male rage stop his personal growth. The movie is based on the autobiography of a former middleweight boxer named Jake La Motta.
This movie is a masterpiece and is among the greatest boxing films of all time. Excellent direction and superb acting made this movie among the top list.
3. When We Were Kings (1996)
- Director: Leon Gast
- Writer: Leon Gast
- Cast: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Spike Lee, Don King, Norman Mailer
- IMDb Ratings: 8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 98%
- Platforms Available: Netflix and Amazon Prime with paid subscription
This biographical film was released in January 1996. It is a mixture of actual interviews and documentaries of one of the most prominent black heavyweight championship boxing matches ever. This match was held in Kinshasa.
And it was between one-time champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, which made Muhammad Ali the first black heavyweight champion. The movie reveals some brutal facts about the relationship between Africans and Americans regarding politics and power.
2. Rocky (1976)
- Director: John G. Avildsen
- Writer: Sylvester Stallone
- Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Dolph Lundgren
- IMDb Ratings: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 91%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime and Hulu with subscription
Rocky is one of the greatest boxing films. Starring Sylvester Stallone, it is the first franchise of the Rocky franchise. The typical sports drama film wins the hearts of many people, making them fans of the legendary actor Sylvester Stallone.
The story, the screenplay, and the captivating performances by the actors in the movie were extraordinary. They made it one of the most successful films and secured second on our list.
Surprising Fact: The movie was written by the actor Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the story’s first half in three and a half days.
1. Creed (2015)
- Director: Ryan Coogler
- Writer: Sylvester Stallone, Ryan Coogler
- Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson
- IMDb Ratings: 7.6/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 95%
- Platforms Available: Amazon Prime and Netflix with a subscription
The movie stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, and Tessa Thompson as Bianca. Adoni, a son of former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed looks for membership from Rocky Balboa to challenge his father’s rival.
This was the first franchise of the Creed franchise. Then after the success of this movie, several other franchises were made, like Creed II and the upcoming Creed III.
Surprising Fact: The Creed movie is derived from the movie Rocky Balboa or continues the theme of Rocky Balboa.
