Champs

Boxing, "the poor man's sport," has long given kids from America's roughest neighbourhoods an opportunity to escape violence with violence. But with success in the ring comes new fights for which there is no training: champions are made and broken in the blink of an eye, and young men thrust into the spotlight are often ill-equipped for the fame, fortune, and hangers-on that accompany a title belt. And for many, the toughest bouts are fought during retirement, when health and financial issues begin to mount. CHAMPS balances the uncensored recollections of heavyweight champs Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Bernard Hopkins with re-enactments, classic fight footage, and candid interviews with Mark Wahlberg, Denzel Washington, Ron Howard, Spike Lee, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent. CHAMPS is an examination of a controversial and unregulated sport in a moment of crisis.