I never realized I could choke up during a boxing movie. Not during a romantic side plot, but during the actual fight, inside the ring. But it happened, 4th round of the middle weight championship fight in Warrior.
The movie showed the struggles of training, emotions and life that all affect a boxer, making him weak, even vulnerable, throughout his career. Commonly misconceived as brutal and aggressive, these men live life with all its ups and downs as any other man.
Besides the great screen shots, effects, and musical accompaniment beautifully matched to the script, the MMA fighting was top notch. The fights were realistic and actually quite entertaining to watch, even for a boxer’s eye.
Even though his face was only visible for a couple of seconds, former trainer Hans put on a nice show.
The Czechs aren’t particularly know for their boxers, but they have been around for a while. Dating back to the 1928 Olympics, Jan Heřmánek took home silver. Although unsuccessfull, Rudolf Bezděk, Jan Chytrý, František Doležal, František Havelka all followed his lead in the 1936 Olympics, but came home empty handed. Not until Ondřej Pála came to the scene in the 90s were there many titles won. With 30 Wins (21 knockouts), 2 Losses, 0 Draws, he is currently fighting in the professional heavyweight division.
Boxing used to be popular some decades ago, after the rules were set around WWI, but then simmered down for a while. Only relatively recently have more boxing clubs opened up around Prague and it is becoming more well known and talked about. Many high level executive come to clear their minds but no manager leagues have formed yet, like the ones it the US, as far as I know.
Although the tradition here is not very strong, males and females of all ages are engaging in fighting, so who knows, there may be a Manny Pacquiao around here somewhere.
peppernickel 
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