By Cliff Rold
Sometimes it’s okay to give in.
Anyone who observes boxing long enough is likely to get a little jaded. Fights and fighters come and go. Classics are spaced out by mediocre to good action along the way. Bad judging, bad refereeing, and prima donna behavior keeping major events on slow burn for years can eat away at enthusiasm.
There are still moments when it’s like when we were kids. That burning feeling of anticipation for Joe Louis appearances described in The Autobiography of Malcolm X , exemplified by Frank Sinatra being so desperate to be at Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali I that he took pictures for Life Magazine , can’t ever really be extinguished.
When boxing gets it right, it does it better than anything else in sports.
Beyond the ring, one arena where boxing has managed to produce and in some ways help to foster love for the game has been on the silver screen. Whether it’s in seedy old black and whites full of fixes and little guys standing up the mob, little Jackie Cooper (and later Ricky Schroeder) screaming that they ‘want the champ,’ or Amy Adams stealing the show on the porch in Micky Ward's story come to life in The Fighter , boxing’s greater culture has been undoubtedly influenced by its Hollywood projections.
There’s nothing like giving in to the moment when a truly great fight is at hand.
Knowing the next great chapter in boxing film lore might be coming is a damn fun feeling too. Already this summer, we’ve seen trailers for an interesting looking fight flick starring Jake Gyllenhaal named Southpaw .
It might end up being a classic. It might end up being Undisputed.
It won’t be the one that gets people cheering the moment the lights go down in the theatre. That movie dropped its trailer this week. If it can be as good for two hours as it was for about two and a half minutes, a new generation may be ready to join the children of the 70s and 80s on a now four-decade ride.
The trailer for Creed is out... and it looks awesome.
The level of awesome was tested, and authenticated, in this household by sharing it with the significant other. The reaction made all the difference and should work on moviegoers who don’t see it online. The first minute of the trailer introduces a down on his luck kid (and what good film boxer isn’t) trying to fight his way past whatever came before.
It’s made clear that the star of the show of is actor Michael B. Jordan, an instant checkmark in the column for bona fides.
The 28-year old might be the best young actor in movies right now. With Fruitvale Station on his dossier, he can arguably already claim to have made the best transition from television to film since Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The difference is Jordan didn’t come from shows like 21 Jump Street and Growing Pains . Jordan is a memorable alumni of The Wire and Friday Night Lights , shows in the running for best cable and network programs of the last twenty years respectively, if not ever.
Then we see a photograph on a restaurant wall familiar to anyone, challenger and champion exchanging blows in a 1976 Oscar winner. When the face of Sylvester Stallone appears, the realization dawns.
This isn’t just a boxing movie.
The significant other responded with a grin. “Oh wow, this is a Rocky movie?”
Similar reactions from friends who didn’t realize this movie was coming, all of whom were pleasantly surprised.
Even after all these years, that brand still means something. Rocky Balboa still makes us smile. Maybe this movie will be great, maybe it won’t.
It will be something to look forward to until we find out.
Everyone remembers watching Rocky movies and it’s hard not to stop when they flash by on cable. From what was really a low-budget indie flick timed with the bicentennial to the ridiculous excesses of outright propaganda film by its fourth iteration, Rocky has always been in part about what we wish boxing was more often.
Guys fighting for pride, honor, revenge, all that good stuff, is part of the allure. Rocky movies never talk about A-sides. Rocky even got to punch out Don King-lite once.
And now the old Italian Stallion appears finally ready to pass his torch once and for all.
The Creed trailer was boxing geek gold.
In just more than two minutes, it was that easy to give in.
Cliff’s Notes…
All the geeking aside, when is this movie taking place? Rocky V played with timeline on the age of his own son and that must be what’s happening here because even Apollo Creed’s youngest child should be no less than 30 years old right now…The move of Donnie Nietes-Francisco Rodriguez Jr. to next Saturday (7/11) took away one set of fireworks for this Saturday…So what are the chances we end up with Roman Gonzalez against a live body on HBO in his next appearance? Could the better fight end up being whomever he faces in Japan, likely off major US TV, right after that? That would be a bummer…Cotto-Alvarez seems to be getting closer. The second half of 2015 needs it after an ultimately so-so first half of the year…Intrigued by the “Rogue” cut of the last X-Men movie…Has it really been 18 years since 'Bite Fight'? That means next year is the 20th anniversay of Holyfield-Tyson I. Prepare for the wave of retrospectives…Is anyone in boxing outside the PBC not suing the PBC at this point?
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com