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In the 1920s, James Braddock
(Russell Crowe) was a promising contender in professional boxing; he had
strength, spirit, and tenacity, but the combination of a serious hand injury and
a 1929 defeat in a bout with light heavyweight champ Tommy Loughran sent his
career into a serious tailspin. As Braddock's career in the ring dried up, the
Great Depression put a stake through the heart of America's economy, and
Braddock found himself working at the New York docks for pitiful wages as he
tried to support his wife and three children. Desperate for money, Braddock
turned to his former trainer and manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), who was able
to scare up a bout for him. While conventional wisdom had it that Braddock was
too old, out of shape, and out of practice to have any chance of winning, he
won, and continued beating his opponents. In a nation desperate for good news,
Braddock's surprising comeback became a tonic to struggling workers and
unemployed people, and all eyes were on Braddock when in 1935 he took on
powerful heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko) in what was both literally
the fight of his life.
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