Boxing Movies while the Sport is Slow

Like a lot of people, I spent a portion of my COVID lockdown watching movies, and as a boxing fan, I sought out a bunch of older boxing movies. Did this enough I decided to start writing about them. I started a series of reviews I'm calling "Not Quite Classics." Here's the tag paragraph explaining it: Boxing and movies have gone hand-in-hand ever since audiences saw Bob Fitzsimmons KO Gentleman Jim Corbett with a blow to the solar plexus in 1897. High in drama and low in cost, boxing has been a staple subject for the movie industry, from Body and Soul to Requiem for a Heavyweight, from Rocky to Raging Bull. The movies I review, however, won’t be appearing on any Top 10 lists. Or any Top 50, for that matter. But what these B-movies lack in name recognition, they more than make up for with their blunt charisma, their quirks, and their unexpected cameos. These are the sometimes-forgotten pictures that shaped the genre we know today. Join me in rooting for these cinematic underdogs as we explore some of boxing’s Not Quite Classics. First movie reviewed: IRON MAN, from 1931. Second movie: THEY NEVER COME BACK from 1932. Next on the docket: THE PRIZEFIGHTER AND THE LADY from 1933. They're all available for free online. I have a my list for Not Quite Classics, which I'm pretty excited for. But I want to hear from you all: what boxing movies have you enjoyed this year? What are some forgotten classics? Or some stinkers you saw regardless?