As Will Smith roles with the punches in the biopic "Ali", it's time to celebrate some other great pugilistic pics. You'll be seeing stars after seeing these boxing flicks...
1 RAGING BULL Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci go at it in Martin Scorsese's hard-hitting biopic of Jake La Motta. There's as much violence out of the ring as in it as Jake goes from champ to chump in 15 painful rounds.
2 ROCKY Sylvester Stallone's finest hour as the blue collar Rocky Balboa. An advertisement for the dangers of brain damage, it won Sly the Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars and deprived "Taxi Driver" of the main prize.
3 THE SET-UP Robert Ryan stars as the punch-drunk fighter who heads into a fight he's expected to lose. But what if he doesn't take the fall? The film noir of boxing movies, directed by Robert "The Sound of Music" Wise.
4 REQUIEM FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT Anthony Quinn is the wonderfully named Mountain Rivera, a punch-drunk fighter who's so out of it he throws his fists every time he hears a bell. To save his manager from the mob, he has to debase himself by taking a job as a wrestler. Muhammad Ali (or Cassius Clay as he was then known) plays himself.
5 THE HURRICANE Denzel Washington plays middleweight boxer Robin 'Hurricane' Carter, wrongfully imprisoned on a murder charge, in this liberal drama by Norman Jewison. Some good boxing scenes, but the worthy message flags after the first couple of rounds.
6 THE HARDER THEY FALL Director Mark Robson's drama features more action out of the ring than in it, with a sports publicist (Humphrey Bogart) battling with his conscience. Notable for being Bogie's last screen role.
7 GIRLFIGHT Fantastic female boxing movie with Michelle Rodriguez as the feisty heroine who's not afraid to shatter men's prejudices with a few quick jabs.
8 SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME Paul Newman does the Method in this 50s biopic of middleweight champion Rocky Graziano, once more directed by Robert Wise.
9 FAT CITY John Huston doesn't pull any punches in this downbeat 1972 drama capturing two boxers at different stages of their careers. Stacy Keach and Jeff Bridges' off-screen fortunes mirror the on-screen antics.
10 TWENTYFOURSEVEN Bob Hoskins sets up a boxing club and tries to get the local kids involved, in this funny yet touching feature debut by Shane Meadows. Definitely the only boxing movie to feature a long-suffering Notts County fan.
