DOLO FLICKS: REVIEW — The Kings: Part One: Ghetto to Glory to Gold
“It was the closing of an era, but the curtain closes, then another curtain opens. Boxing is always there as an opening act to everything else that’s happening in the world. Boxing is a metaphor for life. Everyone’s fighting for something. There was a time at the end of the 1970s when you know on some level; you were seeing history. And everybody paid attention.”
— Teddy Atlas
Showtime Sports Documentary Films, along with British director Mat Whitecross have brought boxing fans an inside look into one of the most illustrious eras in boxing history.
Whitecross put together a four-part documentary series that encapsulates what made the 1980s a special time for boxing. Boxing fans and non-boxing fans will find something that they can attach and relate to in the series.
The 1980s are a romanticized time for boxing fans, especially for those who lived through that period and experienced the numerous great fights as they took place.
No fighters stood out more than “Sugar” Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Roberto “Manos De Piedras” Duran, and Thomas “Hitman” Hearns. These four fighters were the focus of the documentary series.
The documentary features voiceovers from numerous names known throughout the boxing industry, such as Teddy Atlas, Thomas Hauser, Steve Farhood, Larry Merchant, and Al Bernstein.
The first episode of the four-part documentary series lays down the foundation for the fighters that would be known as the “Four Kings,” looking at the zeitgeist in the United States when all four would emerge.
The transitional period from the 1970s to the 1980s and the focus of the boxing world and sports world, in general, moving out of the Muhammad Ali era was intensely focused on throughout the documentary.
Ray Leonard is heavily focused on in the first episode, as his story is vital in letting the audience know just how impactful his career was to the sports world and the overall story of the “Four Kings.”
The documentary does an outstanding job showing how Leonard was an extension of Muhammad Ali, from having the same trainer in Angelo Dundee and winning an Olympic gold medal.
“He had the showmanship of Ali, but he didn’t have the controversial side that Ali had,” stated sorts journalist Richard O’Brien on the first episode.
Being an Olympic gold medalist is still held in high regard in today’s world; however, in the era of the “Four Kings,” it allowed Leonard to gain a measure of national exposure that was unheard of at the time.
“One thing that made his [Leonard] early days a little different from most fighters is, almost all of his fights were televised on national television,” said former editor-in-chief of The Ring Magazine and Showtime boxing analyst Steve Farhood on the first episode. “Ray got ratings because he was already a star before he ever turned pro, and it was natural to put him on television.”
The world’s political landscape was also a focal point of the series, specifically the transition from Presidents Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. The first episode looks at the juxtaposition of Ronald Reagan’s ability to relate to everyday American’s to how Leonard marketed himself as a promotional free agent that would influence how all athletes would be marketed for the foreseeable future.
Ray Leonard recognized there was an inevitable new age of entertainment and sports getting closer and closer to each other.
— Larry Merchant
One of the best parts of the series, specifically in the first episode, is the transitions the documentary makes from fighter to fighter.
Marvin Hagler is introduced during Leonard’s first world title match against Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Benitez. On that same card, Hagler fought Vito Antuofermo to a controversial draw in his first championship bout for the middleweight crown.
The episode then moves its focus to Thomas Hearns when Leonard is seen sitting ringside as a commentator during one of Hearns’ fights.
The climax of the first episode falls squarely on the fight that arguably started the era of the “Four Kings,” Leonard’s first fight with Roberto Duran in Montreal.
Overall, with a combination of focusing on the fighters, their most significant fights, and the political landscape of the time, the first episode of “The Kings” exceeds expectations.
The show is filled with emotion ranging from love to anger that will leave even the most cynical boxing fan with a tear in his eye.
Originally published at https://www.frontproofmedia.com on June 16, 2021.