Emilio Manrique (Alvaro Orlando) was born in the part of Miami that is never featured in any tourism commercials.  With an absentee father (Steven Bauer) and an addict mother (Yennifer Behrens), Emilio struggled while growing up, getting in trouble and spending time in a mental hospital before he was given a good home by his uncle (Oscar Torre) and grandmother (Ivonne Coll).  Boxing provides an escape for Enrique, a chance to make something out of himself.  But few promoters are willing to take a chance on him, not with his criminal background and rumored mental health woes.  Only Talia Portillo (Camila Banus), who is eager to prove herself as Miami’s first female boxing promoter, is willing to support Emilio but can even she get him a fight against the champion (Jilon VanOver).

From what I understand, Counterpunch was inspired by Alvaro Orlando’s actual life story.  (Along with director Kenneth Castillo, he’s credited with writing the film’s screenplay.)  Almost every boxing cliche is present in Counterpunch but I appreciated that the film took a look at not just how Emilio’s childhood set him on the path to becoming a boxer but also at what it did to him mentally.  As fearsome as Emilio’s opponents are in the ring, the greatest threat to his success of a boxer comes from his own inner demons.  Alvaro Orlando is believable as Emilio, which makes sense since it’s his story!  Danny Trejo and Steven Bauer both show up in small roles.  Trejo plays Emilio’s counselor and he gives a heartfelt performance, playing a character who doesn’t seem like he’s too far off from who Trejo actually is.

Counterpunch is a good boxing movie, even if it doesn’t exactly rewrite the rules of the genre.