If I gave you a massive budget to make a film about one boxer

Ezzard Charles.

First film, simply titled "Ezzard", starts about his childhood, showing his attitude to learning and his love for Jazz, but also obviously show his love for boxing. Possibly portray him as a jock who everyone likes or quiet nerd who stands up for himself. Either way, you show him upset about moving away from Georgia but his achievements in school and the amateurs. There'd be a montage of sorts that shows him growing up and ending with him graduating and recievings his Golden Gloves and AAU awards.

Then his pro career starts, you show him off as a beast and show him embarrassing Yarosz, Maxim and Burley, possibly making it out as though he's hard done by with the titles being froze. Then show he loses twice in a row, you show how tough and his heart in the Marshall fight, but his confidence and momentum are gone. Show him taking a year out before fightng in Rome with the army.
Once he returns you show him destroying everyone at 175 and avenging his losses and feeling on top of the world before Baroudi fight were he is making himself the monster and turns everyone away. You show him taking a break from boxing and questioning everything, real make Ezz the victim.
Then once he gets back into the ring he continues beating everyone and sets his eyes on the title, which he's denied. So you make him the victim again, before he moves up to beat Jersey Joe (who should definitely be made the villian for the sake of the film).

And you end it there, on a high note.
But then the Sequal, simply titled "Charles", begins with him aggressively defending his title and thrashing Lesnevich and calling for Joe Louis. Show how disrespected he was by people like Baer and how he was constantly in the shadow of Joe Louis and Ray Robinson.
Show him winning and beating Walcott again before a dramatic slow motion scene of him being levelled by Walcott's counter.
He's eager to get his title back and beat his rival, so he fights top contenders Layne and Maxim. Everyone wants to see the 4th fight and when its announced both train like there life depended on it. A highlight reel of the fight depicts the action with Charles looking like the winner, and is outraged by the decision.
Then he loses to others feeling raged by the losses and keeps fighting, taking unnecessary punishment before the Marciano fight, where he tries to blame the judges again but people disagree. He takes the rematch and has hope early on with the cut, but is obviously stopped.
Here, Ezz should've retired and the film shows his loved ones saying so. But he keeps going and is battered and beat constantly. Before the end, he's diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's and shows descent into illness, disability, and eventually, his death.

The film ends tragically showing Ezzard Charles Drive with real life quotes and/or audio about how great a man and fighter he was.

 

Larry. Total example of a great championship heart, domination of an era, ring mastery.

 

Life is the villain in the film.

 

Back to the Foreman thing. Man needs a movie. Would have so much growth of character from his thugish youth days to his early career successes and failures. To the hero figure he became in the 90s. It’s a no brainer really. Can even see the Rocky like training sequences with Foreman eating instead of training in his second career lol

 

Sonny Liston.

 

If the goal is to make money, someone popular.

I think Tom Sharkey would make a heck of a film.

 

Sonny needs another film with the same actor.

 

Jack Dempsey

 

I don't if I would say one boxer, but the Fab 4 of the 1980s and Benitez.. But the real story. Not some embellished BS which movies do.. Real stories and put their personalities in it and Ray's phonyness and Duran's attitude and Hagler stubborness and Hearns in a way recklessness with his greatness. All of that. I don't think they would have to embellish. If it is done well it would be a good movie.

 

Greb

 

Emile Griffith. Aaron Pryor.