‘The Golden Gloves Story’: When it ventured into the boxing movie business, the Chicago Tribune learned it wasn’t so easy

CHICAGO — You’ve heard about “Creed III.” It’s the latest in a long line of boxing movies, snaking back to the end of the 19th century. The third chapter in the “Creed” saga, born of the “Rocky” saga, made history last weekend: It did better business in the U.S., not adjusted for inflation, than any previous opening-weekend sports movie, ever.

So. The boxing genre is doing all right.

Boxing films have it all, starting and ending with a metaphoric stage inside the screen. That stage, the boxing ring, crystallizes conflict, combat and redemption, or downfall, on a square patch of destiny. There’s your purple prose for the month: It’s good for you, like fiber.

The post-World War II years were especially rich: John Garfield in “Body and Soul.” Kirk