Cornered: A Life Caught in the Ring (2008)

On June 16, 1983, in front of a capacity crowd of 25,000 at Madison Square Garden, the lives of two young men were forever changed during a controversial boxing match. A tough club fighter ... See full summary »

Director:

Eric Drath

Writers:

Aaron Cohen, Eric Drath

Stars:

Eric Drath, Luis Resto, Steve Farhood

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eric Drath	...	Himself
Luis Resto	...	Himself
Steve Farhood	...	Himself
Randy Gordon	...	Himself - Former New York Athletic Commission Chairman
Bob Arum	...	Himself
Carlos Lewis	...	Himself (as Carlos 'Panama' Lewis)
Rudy Kalis	...	Himself - Sportscaster
Billy Collins	...	Himself
Mark Young	...	Himself - Friend of Billy Collins Jr.
Steve Cross	...	Himself - Friend of Billy Collins Jr.
Ron Scott Stevens	...	Himself - New York Athletic Commission
Thomas Moore	...	Himself - Former Assistant DA
Tony Perez	...	Himself - Referee
Charles Pama	...	Himself - Forensic Scientist
Artie Curlee	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

On June 16, 1983, in front of a capacity crowd of 25,000 at Madison Square Garden, the lives of two young men were forever changed during a controversial boxing match. A tough club fighter from Puerto Rico named Luis Resto fought Billy Collins Jr., an Irish golden boy, for ten grueling rounds. Resto was declared the winner, but within minutes, was accused of tampering with the padding in his gloves - in effect brutalizing Collins Jr. with his bare fists for thirty minutes. More than two decades later, Luis Resto is still a broken man shouldering the burden of his opponent's death; a prison sentence; and a lifetime ban from boxing. Resto relives that infamous night in New York City and exposes the sport's dark side - unfolding an emotional story which finally reveals the truth.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Assault in the Ring

Filming Locations:

Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Live Star Entertainment

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Manipulative Documentary Film-making

The film really starts off great as a very objective approach to what happened at the notorious Resto/Collins fight. But the film loses all credibility when the director breaks the fourth wall and starts parading Resto around.

It is the cardinal sin of a documentary filmmaker to do anything but DOCUMENT. Here, the director pays to have Resto fly all over America and do something he would otherwise not do. That is not a documentary. That is "reality" television.

Furthermore, his constant harassment of Billy Collins family is very uncomfortable. When a subject doesn't want to be interviewed, LEAVE THEM ALONE. There is nothing entertaining about watching a filmmaker bother someone until the police are called. It's something I would expect from network news, not a serious documentary filmmaker.

It's really such a shame because the film had a lot of promise. I won't say it's completely a waste of time, but I felt the filmmaker could have made a great film without Resto's guilt parade.