Cradle of Champions review – boxing documentary in fighting form

21 March 2019 11:00
This robust documentary follows the fortunes of three fighters as they compete for the prestigious New York Golden GlovesHere is a forthright, uncomplicated and robustly made documentary about the New York Golden Gloves, the most prestigious amateur boxing contest in the United States, which has been sponsored by the New York Daily News since its creation in the 1920s. It has been the nursery of more great boxers than the Olympics, including Floyd Patterson and Sugar Ray Leonard. (I couldn’t resist checking if Jake LaMotta ever fought in the Golden Gloves; he didn’t, but his nephew John did.)The film follows the fortunes of three young fighters: Titus Williams, James Wilkins and Nisa Rodriguez and reflects on the time-honoured subject of how boxing offers an aspirational culture and gets young people out of harm’s way. And at the amateur level, then there is some level of innocence – although the film doesn’t touch explicitly on how big money, or the prospect of big money, could change that. Director Bartle Bull ponders how amateur and community boxing clubs have been closing down in New York over the past 20 years, and how the Golden Gloves could soon be starved of talent. Continue readingread full article

Source: TheGuardian