dmittedly, their freewheeling boxing documentary is a little rambling and understructured, but nevertheless director Steve Read and producer-narrator Robert Douglas end up making a compelling and illuminating mosaic about the sport by focusing on an eclectic range of figures, some interviewed on screen. The opening sequence, narrated by Douglas, starts with his personal recollections about how much watching boxing meant to him, especially as a biracial kid from the roughest parts of Liverpool.
Then the film starts going off in all kinds of directions. There’s a digression about legendary boxing promoter Don King and his impact on the business, then a goodly chunk of time spent with charismatic former champ Bernard Hopkins who held world titles in two different classes but only started boxing when he came out of prison.
While it’s apparent that boxing has taken its toll on several of the interviewees in neurological terms, most of them are charming raconteurs who witter on engagingly about their glory days. Meanwhile, Read, acting also as the film’s cinematographer, has an eye for interesting compositions, and the film teems with striking and atmospheric shots of neon lights at magic hour or people just hanging out in the streets, injecting themselves openly.