We all love boxing, and so does Hollywood. We’ve got “Southpaw” in cinemas now and “Creed” – the 7th film in the Rocky Franchise – coming out at the end of the year. There have been several films about the noble art that is the sweet science of boxing. Some have been terrible, some have been brilliant. This is my top 5 boxing films. I’ve limited myself to choosing only one Rocky film, as I probably would have put I-IV in there and just thrown Raging Bull in there to make it a 5! I have also kept it to actual films and not documentaries (that may be another article down the line somewhere…)

5. Ali

This wasn’t as well-received when it was released as it was sold to be but I still thought it was a brilliant film. It centred more on Ali’s personal life rather than his one in the ring but it still had enough in ring action to keep the boxing fan in me entertained. Will Smith was the only person they could cast for Ali and I think he was brilliant in the role

4. The Fighter

The bio pic that follows Mickey Wards rise to become the WBU champion has its mixed of boxing action and drama from his personal life. Mark Walberg is brilliant as Ward but the star of the show hands down was Christian Bale as Dickie Eklund. Very entertaining and it showed that a boxing film could still be done for today’s cinema goer.

3. Million Dollar Baby

When I first watched this I thought “Here we go, a gritty female version of Rocky” but boy was I wrong! The twist towards the end of the film catches you so off guard that you’ll be watching the next few scenes with a wide mouth. Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank are brilliant all the way through this film. If you haven’t watched this film go buy/download it now.

2. Rocky III

This film had it all: The dramatic death of Micky, Rocky losing his confidence, Apollo getting it back for him and then there was the song! We’ve all shadow boxed to Survivors “Eye of the Tiger” and if you’re anything like me you’ve got it on you iPod (it’s actually on my running playlist). Rocky III is arguably the best film in the Rocky franchise.

1 Raging Bull

This has to be the go to boxing film for many. DeNiro is brilliant in the part of LaMotta, getting himself into such good shape for the role that the real LaMotta said he could have gone pro. Shot in black and white to make it stand out from the Rocky Films, it actually gives the film a real time period feeling to it. Fun fact I read up on Raging Bull while writing this: the boxing scenes in the film only make up 10 minutes of running time!

So that’s my top 5 boxing films. Some honourable mentions go to:

Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky IV, Cinderella Man and a guilty pleasure of mine in the form of Grudge Match… don’t hate me for it, I found it very easy to watch!