Battle of the Baddest

Werner We Love You(de)

When Werner Herzog was still a child, his father was beaten to death before his eyes. His mother was overwhelmed with his upbringing and thereupon shipped him off to one of the toughest youth welfare institutions in Freistatt. This was followed by a career as a bouncer in the city's most notorious music club and an attempt to start a family. Today, the 77-year-old from Bielefeld lives with his dog Lucky in a lonely house in the country. Despite adverse living conditions, he has survived in his own unique and inimitable way.

Boxer Joe(ja)

A docudrama about the boxer Jôichirô Tatsuyoshi. The documentary part follows Tatsuyohi for 18 months, from his comeback from an eye injury to his match against Yasuei Yakushiji in 1994. A fictional part follows a restaurant owner, fan of Tatsuyohi, waiting for the match with his friends and family.

Es geht um Alles(de)

Kings of The Ring - History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990(en)

The BBC produced “Kings of The Ring – History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990” celebrates boxing’s marquee division. Comprehensive and nonjudgmental, it begins with Jess Willard’s victory over Jack Johnson in Cuba and runs through the Mike Tyson era.

Fisticuffs(en)

This Pete Smith Specialty short showcases former heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer with various sparring partners in the ring. Slow motion is used to illustrate how Baer uses his skills.

The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali(en)

George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as The Rumble in the Jungle, was a heavyweight championship boxing match on October 30, 1974, at the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël) in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), between undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. The event had an attendance of 60,000 people and was one of the most watched televised events at the time. Ali won by knockout in the eighth round.

Manny(en)

From abject poverty to becoming a ten-time boxing world champion, congressman, and international icon, Manny Pacquiao is the true definition of a Cinderella story. In the Philippines, he first entered the ring as a sixteen-year-old weighing ninety-eight pounds with the goal of earning money to feed his family. Now, almost twenty years later, when he fights, the country of 100 million people comes to a complete standstill to watch. Regarded for his ability to bring people together, Pacquiao entered the political arena in 2010. As history’s first boxing congressman, Pacquiao now fights for his people both inside and outside of the ring. Now at the height of his career, he is faced with maneuvering an unscrupulous sport while maintaining his political duties. The question now is, what bridge is too far for Manny Pacquiao to cross?

Bobby Cassidy: Counterpuncher(en)

A deeply human portrait of a boxer with the heart of a lion who refused to give up, in and outside of the ring. This documentary follows the fighter's life from a child who was taught how to hate, to a father who learned how to love.

Mayweather(en)

Documentary about the life of undefeated eight-time world boxing champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

Rocky Ros Muc(ga)

The story of boxer Sean Mannion, born in the 1950s in Ros Muc in county Galway, Ireland, his boxing career, his emigration to America and the effect it had on him, his brush with organized crime in Boston.

Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston(en)

Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Eight years later, he died but friends questioned the cause of his death.

Day of the Fight(en)

'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.

Counterpunch(en)

As boxing's popularity wanes, three fighters at different stages of their career make sacrifices to pursue their dreams of becoming champions.

Boxing Club(es)

Evander Holyfield vs Buster Douglas(en)

A professional boxing match contested on October 25, 1990, for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships. The bout took place at the Mirage in Paradise, Nevada, USA and saw Douglas making the first defense of the titles he won from Mike Tyson in February 1990.

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson(en)

The story of Jack Johnson, the first African American Heavyweight boxing champion.

Urtain, King of the Mountains(es)

A humorous visit to the turbulent world of the controversial Spanish boxer José Manuel Urtain.

Esquivar y pegar(es)

Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson(en)

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.

Golden Girl(sv)

Golden Girl is a film about the forces at play around Frida Wallberg, WBC world champion. It's about putting it all on the line in a deadly sport. About rosy dreams that crash into a nothing less than brutal reality.