Many boxing fans are curious to see how boxers live when the main event is over, what goes on behind the curtain, and how boxing interacts with culture.
With these choices, we focused on boxers’ untold stories, the events that surrounded legends and their fights, and their unseen struggles.
Here are our choices for the best boxing documentaries.
Best Boxing Documentaries
- When We Were Kings
- Cradle of Champions
- Jack Johnson, Unforgiveable Blackness
- T-Rex
- Assault In The Ring
1. When We Were Kings
- Director: Leon Gast
- Starring: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King
- IMDb Rating: 8.0 / 10
- Length: 1 hr 28 min
- Year: 1996
Our Review
When We Were Kings shows the events surrounding the “Rumble in the Jungle Fight” between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
Even though there are many documentaries on Ali, this is our favorite of him. It shows Ali as a cultural icon first, surrounded by mobs of people, trash-talking, and joking around, and a boxer second.
What’s most interesting about this film is how the actual boxing match was a footnote to the political and social landscape surrounding both boxers.
Between the arrival of American black music royalty (James Brown, B.B. King) in Zaire, and the brutal presence of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, it’s easy to overlook the main event that this documentary was supposed to capture.
There was an impossibly high expectation for everyone involved to perform well, and director Leon Gast managed to capture all that energy on film.
This documentary is available to watch on Amazon.
Watch Now On Amazon2. Cradle of Champions
- Director: Bartle Bull
- Starring: Brian Adams, Teddy Atlas, Duquan Chambers
- IMDb Rating: 6.5 / 10
- Length: 1 hr 40 min
- Year: 2017
Our Review
This documentary follows Titus Williams, James Wilkins, and Nisa Rodriguez, three boxers on the grind preparing for the Golden Gloves, the premier amateur boxing tournament in America.
With the gritty New York winter as the backdrop, each boxer is focused on survival first. Outside of the ring, there’s only crime, jail, and death.
Scenes of their training are contrasted with scenes of them at home, with family, at church, trying to stay out of trouble and be a part of society. In quiet moments, you can see a distant stare in their eyes; their mind is in the ring.
What we loved about this documentary was that it’s something we can all relate to. Going to see your favorite pro boxer is exciting, but there’s something special about supporting everyday people on the big stage. At some point you realize that your favorite boxers are just everyday people too.
This documentary is available to watch on Amazon.
Watch Now On Amazon3. Jack Johnson, Unforgiveable Blackness
- Director: Ken Burns
- Starring: Jack Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson
- IMDb Rating: 8.4 / 10
- Length: 3 hr 34 min
- Year: 2004
Our Review
Next is a documentary about legendary boxer Jack Johnson.
Unlike Muhammad Ali, whom everyone loved, Jack Johnson was Public Enemy #1 in his era. As the first black man to be allowed to compete for the heavyweight title, he was a pioneer in a time of heavy racial and social inequality in America.
Imagine receiving death threats before each fight for your whole career. Would you step in the ring?
Nowadays in high-stakes title fights, the crowd cheers for their country and race more than the individual fighter. Would you enter a stadium where everyone hated you for your color?
After his victory against white James Jeffries, race riots erupted all over the United States, with countless dead or injured. Does your favorite boxer today have that influence?
This documentary available to watch on Amazon.
Watch Now On Amazon4. T-Rex
- Director: Zackary Canepari, Drea Cooper
- Starring: Claressa Shields
- IMDb Rating: 7.3 / 10
- Length: 1 hr 31 min
- Year: 2015
Our Review
This next documentary is about Clarissa ‘T-Rex’ Shields and her journey to become the first American woman to win the Olympic gold in boxing.
At a young age, she overcomes obstacles from all angles: problems with her family at home and stereotypes about her gender and race.
While women’s boxing is overshadowed by the hype and huge purses of men’s boxing, this documentary shows that women go through the same trials and more to reach the top.
As time goes on, history will remember T-Rex as one of the all-time greats of women’s boxing.
This documentary is available to watch on Amazon.
Watch Now On Amazon5. Assault In The Ring
- Director: Eric Drath
- Starring: Eric Drath, Luis Resto, Steve Farhood
- IMDb Rating: 7.5 / 10
- Length: 1 hr 23 min
- Year: 2008
Our Review
Last is a documentary about the dark side of boxing, away from the spotlight and behind the curtain, telling the story of the controversial fight between Billy Collins Jr. and Luis Resto.
What was supposed to be a typical undercard fight ended up changing the life courses of both boxers, as Resto swapped out gloves with ones with tampered padding, inflicting irreparable damage to Collins.
While the motivation behind this decision is still unknown, the consequences are felt today by everyone involved.
Watching this is a sober reminder of how much of boxing is out of your control to referees, judges, promoters, or shady side-parties, no matter how well trained or skilled you are.
This documentary is available to watch on Amazon.
Watch Now On AmazonConclusion
We made these choices for the best boxing documentaries to remind you that boxing is more than just hype and promotions. When you turn the TV off on your favorite boxer or on these documentaries, their lives continue.
Since boxing is a solo sport, we tend to forget that your opponent may have gone through the same or worse.
No matter how big you think you are or how big you think your favorite boxer is, we all have a brief time to shine and then we become part of the story.
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