The fight


The fight in this film is considered perhaps the best staged for a Hollywood film. Both Robert Ryan and Hal Fieberling, (Baylor), had experience as boxers. Ryan was an intercollegiate boxing champ at Dartmouth and Fieberling had a 14-8 record as a pro heavyweight.

Their fight is very exciting and the excesses of make-up often employed in Hollywood fights are avoided. But the fight is still too "busy", even if you consider it was a four rounder and that the Ryan character had an extra motivation for "getting the guy". They throw nothing but haymakers and land most of them and just keep milling for every second of every round. It makes Hagler-Hearns look like a walk in the park. In most Hollywood films we see action like this and jump forward to a later round. Here we see the whole thing and they look like those boxers in that arcade.

It takes a little bit away from a film that otherwise leaves nothing to be desired. The most realistic fight in a Hollywood film is probably Rocky I, where the boxers miss punches, get tired, look at the clock, etc. Of course, that was the last Rocky film that had any realism to it.

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There is also the issue that Stoker was supposed to "drop" in the third round and wouldn't, leaving Tiger frustrated and enraged. The emotions of both men were heightened, so the action was, too.

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[deleted]

I think it's really fortunate that the negatives were well-preserved and that Warner Bros. (which I think owns DVD rights to RKO's films) did a fantastic job of transfering this to DVD; you can literally see the sweat bounce off whenever a punch is thrown.

Robert Ryan is one of those incredibly underrated actors who, possibly because he was at RKO and not the star-making MGM or Warner Bros., never got the status of someone like Clark Gable or John Wayne, because he obviously had the talent, the body, the looks, the presence and the dedication. He's such a huge part of why The Set-Up succeeds, because it relieves him of playing the tough bad guy he was typecast as (which he excelled masterfully, probably the biggest reason for his typecasting in the first place), and allows him to play a human being with ambitions, love, determination and bravery. Against all the sweat and exhaustion, it's a performance of amazing grace and dignity--and it's this that makes the driving force of Stoker's battles in the ring so powerful. Along with On Dangerous Ground, this is probably the best performance I've seen Ryan give so far.

"GOD--WAS--WRONG!"--James Mason, Bigger Than Life

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[deleted]

Like in Raging Bull, the fight is pretty exhilarating with the action heightened for effect, but in no way realistic - I mean, these are pretty big (plus, in Ryan´s case, old) fighters yet they never seem to tire, just keep on swinging hard right through all 4 rounds. And, what is even more baffling, both land a huge number of clean punches yet nothing seems to be enough to score a knockout. In reality, with this kinda punching by men this big, the bout wouldn´t have gone beyond the first round, that´s for sure. But, as said, it does work as cinematic spectacle though.



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

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Anyone that does not believe it was realistic should watch the Gatti Ward three fight trilogy, one of the best fights ever




On May 18, 2002, Ward faced the opponent with whom he became most identified, Arturo Gatti. The fight was a wild one, but a ninth round Ward knockdown of Gatti proved to be the difference, with Ward winning a majority decision. The fight was later named the 2002 Ring magazine fight of the year. Both fighters needed care in a trauma center after the match.

The two agreed to an immediate rematch, and in November, Gatti was able to win the second wild fight. Ward was knocked down in the third round, but survived to finish the fight. Gatti paid tribute to Ward's tenacity after the fight, saying, "I used to wonder what would happen if I fought my twin. Now I know."[3]

They then agreed to a third straight fight, and again, the fight was back and forth. Gatti pounded Ward with punch after punch early on, but Ward fought back and managed a sixth round knockdown of Gatti. Before Gatti could get up, or the referee's count could hit ten, the bell sounded to end the round. Gatti was able to come back and win the fight via a unanimous decision. Again, both men needed a trip to the hospital, due to the injuries they suffered.[3] The fight was named the 2003 Ring magazine fight of the year, the third straight for Ward.[5]

All told, Ward made approximately $3 million in earnings for his trilogy with Gatti; the most lucrative fights of his career.[6]


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