10 Best Boxing Movies of All-time

One of the contenders for several Academy Awards in 2011 is "The Fighter". "The Fighter" will be represented at the Academy Awards in Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. That is an impressive list of Oscar nominations but how does "The Fighter" rank compared to the all-time great boxing movies?

10) "Girlfight"
Before she gained notoriety for her role as Vin Diesel's mate in "The Fast and the Furious", Michelle Rodriguez starred in this indie boxing flick. No offense to Hilary Swank's great acting performance, but Rodriguez is probably the most believable female boxer in any boxing movie. "Girlfight" was praised at Sundance and Cannes but never got noticed by the major award academies.

9) "The Quiet Man"
"The Quiet Man" stars John Wayne who accidentally kills a man in the ring during a boxing match. He then vows to never fight again until his wife calls him a coward. "The Quiet Man" was nominated for six Academy Awards and won legendary director John Ford a Best Director Oscar.

8) "Rocky"
I know I'm in the minority but "Rocky" is a bit overrated. Any movie that has Sly Stallone as the lead actor is going to be hurting for quality acting. The underdog win at the end wasn't totally cliche at that time I suppose but it seemed pretty obvious to me that Rocky was going to win.

7) "Somebody Up There Likes Me"
Rocky Balboa might be tops to many in boxing movies but Rocky Marciano is the real king of boxing. In this boxing film Marciano is played by Paul Newman in one of his earliest performances. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" takes viewers on a journey through Marciano's life as he joins a gang, goes to jail, gets drafted, goes AWOL and then finally ends up boxing for money.

6) "Cinderella Man"
"Cinderella Man" tells the touching story of James J. Braddock. Unlike the other boxers on this list Braddock was never fighting for fame, glory or even revenge. When Braddock's career came to a halt he could not support his family during the Great Depression. Braddock attempted a comeback to try and put food on his family's table.

5) "The Fighter"
"The Fighter" is loaded with talented actors and all three of the supporting actors (Christian Bale, Melissa Leo and Amy Adams) are deserving of Oscars. However, Mark Wahlberg is not quite on the level of some of the starring actors in these other boxing films.

4) "On the Waterfront"
When Marlon Brando uttered those famous words, "I coulda been a contender" it was clear that a legend had arrived. "On the Waterfront' won an astounding eight Academy Awards and probably should have gotten a ninth. "On the Waterfront" was such a well acted movie that three different actors from the movie split the vote for Best Supporting Actor so none of them won.

3) "The Set-Up"
"The Set-Up" combines the world of boxing with the film noir genre. "The Set-Up" stars Robert Ryan as a washed-up boxer that starts losing every fight. His manager then decides to make a deal with a mob boss saying that his client will take a dive. Why not? He's going to lose anyway. The only problem is that his over-the-hill boxer gets pissed off when he finds out about the deal and it motivates him to try and win the fight.

2) "Million Dollar Baby"
"Million Dollar Baby" is a pretty good film for a period of time and then suddenly becomes dark but the dark turn propels it into a great film. "The Million Dollar Baby" may be the only boxing movie that really focuses on the relationship and bond between a fighter and their trainer. "Million Dollar Baby" received Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Clint Eastwood), Best Actress (Hilary Swank) and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman).

1) "Raging Bull"
"Raging Bull" tells the story of Jake LaMotta, a boxer that struggles with violence in the ring and outside of the ring. LaMotta is brought to life by one of the best actors of all-time, Robert DeNiro, and one of the best filmmakers of all-time, Martin Scorsese. The result is one of the greatest films every made. The American Film Institute ranks "Raging Bull" as the fourth best film of all-time.