2021’s A Father’s Fight tells the story of Bo Lawson (Travis Hancock).

Bo was an up-and-coming boxer who appeared to have a great future ahead of him. He was married to Kacie (Sarah Cleveland). He was a father. He had everything to look forward to. But then, Bo gave all of that up because of his addiction to alcohol. His fighting career ended. Kacie left him. Bo is now washed-up and struggling to make a living. He can’t hold down a job because of his drinking, and the fact that he doesn’t have employment, boxing, or a family to occupy him means that he has a lot of free time to pursue his vices.

Bo is approached by his former trainer, Sal (John French). Sal trained both Bo and another fighter named Dylan (Paul Lincks). While Bo crashed and burned, Dylan went on to become the champion. Now, Dylan is planning on retiring, but he wants to end his career in his hometown with one last fight against Bo. Bo could use the money. Sal is willing to train him but only if Bo cleans himself up. Bo attends AA. He trains hard. He tries to win back his wife. And he learns that there are things that are more important than winning one fight.

A Father’s Fight is an interesting film. For a movie about boxing, it’s surprisingly talky. There are long, extended sequences of Bo talking about his struggles and Kacie talking about their marriage. The scenes have a slight improvisational feel to them. While they may not be the most visually exciting scenes that I’ve ever seen in a boxing movie, they do have a welcome authenticity to them. This is a sports film where the human drama feels as important as the question of who is going to win the big fight. What I appreciated about the film is that it didn’t let Bo off easy. The film understands that fixing Bo’s marriage is going to take more than just Bo going to AA and earning his chips. To his credit, Bo understands that as well. Bo is not in denial about his alcoholism or his self-destructive behavior. He understands that he needs to change his life and that it’s not going to be easy. The film never makes the mistake of idealizing or excusing its addict. That makes it all the more inspiring when Bo manages to stick with his recovery.

Compared to most boxing films, A Father’s Fight is rather low-key. This film doesn’t attempt to recapture the feel of Rocky Balboa running down a street in Philadelphia while “Gonna Fly Now” plays on the soundtrack. Bo’s efforts to become a better man are often lonely, and the only victory is his own knowledge that things aren’t as bad as they were the previous day. It’s less a sports film and more a portrait of life in Middle America. I live in Middle America so I could relate to the film. A Father’s Fight turned out to be far better than I was expecting.