Eric Drath recounts a great boxing story but in doing so defiles it. From the Michael Moore school of documentary making, he takes an already exploited, broken man and exploits him some more - always looking for a money shot.Sending Mr Resto to see his estranged family and then, without prior warning to see the Collins family was beyond crass.Any documentary maker who needs to put his own face in his film is flawed. It's a great story and actually does unearth new evidence about the tragedy. It's just a pity that the project was devoid of integrity, empathy and compassion.Watch Ring of Fire or No Mas instead.

Okay, I first saw footage of this very brutal and disturbing ten round assault many years ago. It was part of a documentary about cheating in sport, most of the cheating involved was trivial stuff. A footballer spitting at an opponent,a fencing bout that was rigged. And then came Billy Collins and Luis Resto. This whole story very deeply disturbed me, how an innocent young man can give so much passion and spirit to a sport he loved and then life and boxing can spit in his face. And I refer to Billy Collins NOT POOR OLD LUIS RESTO. Now, when I first heard about this documentary being made I was pleased, I thought somehow old wounds would be healed and the spirit of Billy Collins jr would finally get the respect and honour it deserved. The documentary it has to be said is quite well made, apart from some terrible editing in places,e.g Luis Resto is on his way to Nashville to apologize to Billys family and for reasons known only to him, he is laughing and smiling. Strange. The downside to this film is the blatant way it sides with Luis.Poor old Luis, why is he still being punished? Why can't he box or coach again? Because you disgraced the sport my friend. How could you pound a young mans face until blood streamed down it and he was half blind, knowing you had plaster on your fists and gloves with half the padding removed? STAY AWAY, FAR AWAY FROM ANYTHING TO DO WITH BOXING, GET A JOB AND MOVE ON. The documentary seems to lay the blame of Billys death at his fathers feet, which I found disgusting. Apparently, Billys father should have let him carry on boxing (even though he was half blind) and everything would have been fine. I didn't care for that part at all to be honest. Those parts aside, it has to be said some of this documentary is engrossing, Luis meeting his trainer Panama Lewis again after all these years and demanding the truth. Come on,they all know who tore the stuffing out of those gloves, lets not be stupid here, an experienced boxer knows when padding has been removed from his gloves, he already had plaster wrapped round his knuckles. A very sad story, and I still can't believe Billy never got a penny in compensation for what happened. I am sure he would still be with us if he had. RIP Billy Collins jr

The scene where Resto finally admits guilt is a telling one. And part of the reason I gave it a 6. Along with the first 20 minutes. Just great story telling. The shuffling around the country of Resto was pathetic and Drack making himself the star of the show. Pathetic!! Resto is a sad case but likable in a warped way. Panama Lewis is perhaps the worst person I have ever seen on screen. He is a slim above all others. The worst ever!! Resto's sister is not sympathetic and she has too much, way too much sympathy for Resto. What he did was wrong. He isn't a hero. But at least he makes amends. Panama is so sleazy its scary. He wont accept any guilt or claim he did anything wrong.

Just finished this excellent feature length documentary that details an infamous (in the boxing world at least) 1983 bout between undefeated prospect Billy Collins, Jr. and the guy he was supposed to beat, Luis Resto. The end result is kind of a THE THIN BLUE LINE (1988) for the boxing world as the film examines the illegal activity that occurred during the bout and the tragic consequences it had on a multitude of lives. It certainly exposes the sleaziest side of boxing and you can't help but feel sorry for the guilt-ridden Resto who bares his soul for the filmmakers. Lewis, on the other hand, is a piece of work. I've never seen a more reprehensible human being in my entire life. First time director Eric Drath used to be a boxing agent and he handles a majority of the material well. There is one hugely manipulative misstep though with Drath having Resto travel to Tennessee to apologize to Collins' family, despite their earlier request of not wanting anything to do with the documentary. Regardless, this can be seen as being much more than about dirty boxing - it showcases the workings of the human conscience.