This story is inspired by real events.
The people and events shown are made up for artistic purposes.
Any similarity to reality is purely coincidental.
[crying quietly]
[mourners crying]
[crying]
[Ringo, in Spanish] Dad had style, didn't he?
I wish he could've seen me fight. I could've traveled with him. [laughs]
He was always asking about you,
how you were, the fight, did you win, the restaurant.
He wanted to know everything.
And?
And what?
Have you decided then?
- Not now, Vicente. Are you kidding me? - Yes, now, Oscar. Now.
I'm not going back to the States.
Why don't you think about it?
Sure, they gave you your license back, but boxing's not better here.
You can have a bigger career there, Titi.
It's a completely different economy.
The only way to have a career is to be heavyweight champion here first.
Sure, sweetheart, but it might take some time.
That's what I'll be. Argentinean Heavyweight Champion.
You have to be patient.
Patient and smart, Oscar. Did you see what the dollar is at?
I'll make myself known and get the fight, you'll see.
The title fight.
- How? - How did Cassius Clay do it?
- Are you gonna change your name? - I don't know.
If they don't like me, I'll make them hate me,
but they'll know me, all right.
II. FLAT-FOOTED CHAMPION
[announcer] Luis Benetti, Argentinean heavyweight champion,
and another overwhelming victory.
Benetti continues to collect title defenses, and audiences' favor.
They worship him and his impeccable conduct
both inside and outside the ring.
And that's the conclusion to another unforgettable night at Luna Park,
as always, organized by the businessman and promoter Tito Lectoure.
"I WILL BEAT HIM.
HIM AND A HUNDRED OTHERS LIKE HIM."
- [agent] Come on in. - [Ringo] I like the palm trees.
- It's spacious, right? - Mm-hmm.
[agent] It just needs a little paint, which will be done next week.
[Dora] This could be the dining room.
- Is the kitchen over there? - Yes.
- [Dora] And the bedrooms are on that side? - [agent] Yes, I'll show you if you'd like.
CHAMPION LUIS BENETTI WINS ANOTHER SWEEPING VICTORY
Bonavena? [laughs]
[Benetti] What, he wants to get famous off me?
Tell him whatever to make him go away.
- [footsteps approaching] - Stop with Benetti.
- Let's go see the bedrooms. - Mmm.
[Joe] Vinnie.
[in English] How come you didn't follow through on the visa?
[gate buzzes]
I bought his contract.
It was your job
to book his plane ticket,
arrange his arrival
and get all his paperwork done.
You dropped the ball on that last one.
I know, Joe.
Maybe we can talk to District Attorney Ferguson.
[chuckles, scoffs] Great idea.
We ask him to meet,
he gets all wired up, records everything,
and then throws Joe in the can for two years, like Fortuna did.
How about...
they leave the country for a little while?
Some place close by. And then they can get back in.
It's too risky for them to return to Argentina.
It's too far away.
Maybe they can go to Mexico and stay there until the papers get through.
I mean, I spent 20 years going back and forth.
A few months won't hurt anybody.
Let's not make any hasty decisions.
Two South Americans coming in and out of Mexico so fast.
They might get deported.
We should make him a US citizen.
Right away.
When were you planning to tell us?
What?
About your visa.
That's for managers, no?
It's important to take care of this
so that you can do this fight and the following ones.
What do you miss the most about Argentina?
Meat. [chuckles]
Just that?
My kids.
How many kids have you got?
Two.
Two?
How old are they?
Adrianita, the girl,
she is 12.
And Ringuito,
like me, but small... [chuckles]
...he is seven.
And what about their mother?
Your wife?
You missing her?
My ex-wife.
[folk song playing]
[guests cheering]
[guest laughs]
♪ O'er the land of the free ♪
♪ And the home of the brave ♪
Congratulations, Ringo.
[chuckles] Thank you.
This time, let me help you.
Okay?
You're gonna get me an Argentine passport?
[chuckles]
I wanna make your life better, not ruin it.
[song continues]
Your leg.
What about it?
Tomorrow, come see me at the gym.
Hmm?
- [conductor speaking English on TV] - [Ringo sighs]
[Tracy, in Spanish] Fuchsia or green?
Mmm. Green, dollar green.
[laughs]
The Oscars start in a bit. Are you staying to watch?
I know all the winners of the last ten years.
Ask me, go ahead.
[sighs] I'd love to... but I have to go train.
So you weren't gay after all.
[chuckles]
I'm Argentinean. There are no fags in Argentina.
[laughs]
And you took our wedding night very seriously, eh?
One night is okay, but next time, you pay like everyone else.
You're going to charge me?
Look at me. Look at this.
- [laughs] - You should be paying me.
1970 Best Picture winner?
- [in English] Midnight Cowboy. - [in Spanish] I know that one.
[laughs]
[commentator] Bonavena debuts at Luna Park against Adolfo Diéguez,
with all his substantial 205 pounds achieving...
[journalist] And Rolo?
Do you know what story we're leading with?
THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
- [commentator] While the tribunal... - [Rolo] Pass me the photos.
...deliberates,
the second and third turns, Bonavena presents calm and collected
until the fourth, when he looks...
- Let's go with this. -...like a flash-bang.
-Bonavena's debut... - Headline?
Refined, vigorous...
"Wins by a hair."
[reporter on TV] Congratulations.
It really has been a spectacular debut in this stadium.
Thank you so much.
- Rolo. - [shushes]
[reporter] What will you do next?
I'm preparing for when Benetti feels like fighting me.
-Tonight was just a formality. -And who are these flowers for?
For Benetti's manager. I don't know his name.
-Lectoure, his representative. -Yes, for him.
So he doesn't show up empty-handed to his student's funeral.
Cause I'm gonna kill Benetti.
- [reporter] Thank you, Ringo. - [announcer speaking Spanish]
Get me this kid on the phone right away.
[theme song playing on TV]
FAMILY SATURDAYS
The moment has arrived to welcome this young man from Parque Patricios
who's starting a revolution in Argentinean boxing.
After a hard...
What the hell are you doing with a chicken, kid?
[chuckles] Don't worry, I learned this one from Cassius Clay.
Look, it cost me a lot to get you on this show.
Don't do anything stupid.
Rolo, do you mind if I call you Rolo?
ON AIR
With your money and my mug, we'll take over the world. Remember that.
...a warm welcome, a round of applause for Oscar "Ringo" Bonavena.
[audience applauding]
Ringo, what a beautiful chicken.
-Did you leave boxing and start a farm? - [audience laughs]
No, no. This is a pet my wife got for me.
Oh! And what did you name him?
- Benetti. - [host] Benetti?
The Argentinean heavyweight champion?
No, no. Benetti is the Argentinean champion coward.
- [host laughs] - Can't you see he won't show his face?
So, does Benetti cluck or do anything?
-I don't know, let's see. - [chicken clucks]
- What's up, Benetti? [clucking] - [host laughs]
[laughter]
-You're handsome, eh? You're handsome. - [chicken squawks]
-Come here. [barking] - [clucking]
Go. Go ahead. King Kong against the chicken.
-When's the official fight? -I don't know.
I don't know, because whenever I call Benetti, his mom answers.
- [laughing] - [audience cheering]
I put her down to sleep.
And I have good news.
What happened?
I'll tell you if you fuck me.
Rolo called.
What did he say?
There's someone who wants to meet you.
Who?
Someone important.
Who, who?
You have to earn it.
[Tito] He bites someone at the São Paulo Pan American Games,
is suspended for two years,
goes to live in New York,
and goes from washing dishes to winning three fights at Madison Square Garden,
the most famous boxing stadium in the world.
He returns to Argentina,
gets his license back,
fights some guy named Diéguez
and suddenly becomes an actor and a comedian.
You do what you can.
You're causing quite the commotion on TV, Oscar.
Ringo. Call me Ringo. Like Ringo Starr, see?
Ah, like Ringo Starr.
Quite the punch, Oscar.
- Sorry. Ringo. - [chuckles]
You really think you can get into the ring with Benetti?
Yes, of course. But I'd fight with only one hand, eh?
Why with only one hand?
That way the fight will last longer.
If I knock him out in the first round, the fight will be short
and so will the broadcast, and you'll make less money,
because there will be fewer ads. [laughs]
And if the fight is longer?
Benetti will tire you out.
From the fifth round on, you'll start to gasp like a fish,
your flat feet will weigh more and more,
and around the tenth round,
pow!
To smithereens, Ringo Starr.
Keep boxing for now,
and have the fight last as long as it needs to, got it?
Tito, did you buy that tie out of the country?
[in English] How much longer?
We're almost there.
Just a little bit more. Come on.
I don't think I'm gonna make it.
I told you, I'm gonna help you with that leg.
Yeah, Ringo, I'm grateful, honestly, but I just...
- It's Doctor Bonavena. - Yeah. [panting]
Come on, come on. Just a little bit more.
Faster. A little bit faster.
Ah...
- Time! - [breathing heavily]
Very good!
Doctor Bonavena is very happy.
Sally happy too.
[slams]
[Joe laughs]
Sons of bitches!
They'll pay in blood for this!
What is it, Joe? What now?
They just called from New York.
Turns out they won't arrange any fights with Bonavena
because I've been banned as a promoter.
But we already knew that.
That's why I figure in the contract as Ringo's manager.
That's what I said, Sally.
And that fucking lackey they sent here had the nerve to tell me
that the Garden promoters aren't interested in Bonavena anymore.
They say he's all washed up. [chuckles]
He drank my champagne, he fucked my whores. [chuckles]
Why didn't he mention any of this before?
Why did they bring up the visa and all that shit?
- What else did they say? - What else are they gonna say, Sally, hmm?
Lies, that's what.
One filthy fucking lie after another.
And you know why? Because they want to humiliate me.
They think I'm just a two-bit pimp who has no place in the boxing business.
Okay, Joe, calm down, please.
I ain't gonna calm down.
I'm gonna show those fucking kikes how to put on a goddamn show.
What the fuck are you doing dressed like that for, huh?
[Joe] Bruce Fortuna.
That was the name of the Washoe County district attorney.
That fucker declared the brothel and its owner
a danger to public safety.
And when I got to Reno, that son of a bitch arrested me for vagrancy.
[scoffs]
What is that?
It's an old law on the books that states that pimps are vagrants.
You believe that shit?
The bastard wouldn't take my bribes,
so I sent him another kind of gift.
You know, the kind you can't say no to.
[chuckles]
- A girl. - [laughs]
She pretended to be 18, but she was actually 14.
But that fucking Fortuna had wired the room.
Two years in Nevada State Prison.
Was hard for you, eh?
Nah, not at all.
I ran the prison's casino.
We called it "The Bull Pen."
I had my own waiter.
A nice old guy named Williams.
Uh, he killed a couple of Washoe County lawyers. [laughs]
Nice people.
For that Fortuna fellow, things didn't go as well as planned. [chuckles]
Ah, you know.
He was a different Italian than me. Piedmontese.
Uh...
They're practically French up there.
I'm about as Sicilian as you can get.
Uh...
We're almost there. [laughs]
Okay.
[Joe] Ah. [laughs]
So, uh,
what do you think?
What do I think about what?
The hotel?
It's okay.
Take a good look.
It's not a hotel.
It's a dream.
And together,
we're gonna make it come true.
What dream?
Bring the best boxing in the world to the state of Nevada.
The Mustang Box Arena.
This is where your first fight is going to be.
Reno.
It's a land full of stories.
- Where Ringo Bonavena first fights his-- - Here?
With Norton?
No. The Norton thing didn't work out.
They wanted all the money for themselves.
Micky Diamond, Ringo.
That's your rival.
Micky who?
Micky Diamond.
Joe,
Norton was my way to Ali.
Who the fuck is Micky Diamond? [laughs]
It doesn't matter who Micky Diamond is.
There are two things that all men want.
Fights and women.
We have the women.
All we need now is the boxing.
So, let's get this first fight done.
And then we'll work on getting Ali.
[slaps]
I promise.
[coins clinking]
[line clicks]
[Dora on phone, in Spanish] Hello?
Oscar?
[clicks tongue]
Sweetheart, can you hear me?
[Dora] Are you okay?
[inhales sharply]
[crying quietly]
[radio commentator] Tonight, with record-breaking attendance,
the Argentinean heavyweight title is in contention.
We have the experienced champion, Luis Benetti,
and the young but audacious challenger, Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena.
This promises to be the fight of the century.
[audience cheering]
(13,750 USD PURSE)
[Bautista] Do you know why I wrap your hands?
Because this sport is fought with the hands.
If it were a biting sport, I'd wrap your molars, understood?
You like being a showman, no?
I'm going to tell you something.
Tonight is the most important night in the history of this stadium,
and you're going to be in the ring.
Ready.
Listen well, Oscar.
I could talk to you about strategy, I could tell you where to hit Benetti,
in what round to attack, in which to wait,
but you know that. You know it by heart.
This is a unique opportunity.
Go out there and put your life on the line.
[Bautista] What are you going to do?
Are you here to joke, or are you here to box?
- I'm here to box, coach. I'm here to box. - So let's go and get that belt.
And become champion. Argentinean champion!
- Let's go, damn it! - Let's go, damn it!
- [Pedro] Let's go, Oscar! - [Bautista] Let's go.
- Disarm him. - [Ringo pants]
- [Pedro] Parque Patricios with the belt. - [Juan] Go, go, go!
Go, Oscar, go! Turn, turn!
[Pedro] He's the dumbass.
[groaning]
[door opens]
[door closes]
Break his face.
[announcer, in English] Ladies and Gentlemen...
(3,000 USD PURSE)
...get ready for a real fight.
It's going to be crazy!
[in Spanish] Let's go, champ, eh? Give it your all today, eh?
Let him come at you. Let him. Mmm? He'll think it's his fight.
When you have him really close, pow, you hit him with that shotgun.
Drop the bullshit.
My only hope is that he doesn't block my left.
You have two minutes until you go out.
You asked for the Argentinean anthem, right?
Yes, yes, Buenaventura. Everything you asked for is there.
Two minutes.
- Did he just call you Buenaventura? - You must have told him wrong.
He's an idiot. Didn't he see the posters?
- Are there a lot of people? - Yeah, it's full.
- Did you see Sally? - No, but she should be in the front row.
[audience cheering]
We don't have to talk, right? I told you everything.
- Yeah, I'm going to eat him raw. - This crowd is absolutely record-breaking.
25,326 IN ATTENDANCE (5,000 OUTSIDE)
They're here to see Oscar, that's why.
Let's hope that tonight his left is as quick as his tongue.
[Argentinean national anthem playing]
[announcer speaking English]
[audience cheering]
[in Spanish] Son of a fucking whore.
[announcer, in English] Weighing 218 pounds,
the great South American Champion...
[laughs]
Knock him out, Ringo! [cheers]
From Buenos Aires, Argentina, Oscar "Ringo" Bonavena.
[audience jeering]
[referee, in Spanish] Follow my orders immediately, follow the rules,
greet each other and on your own time, start.
[in English] Corners.
- [bell dings] - [referee] Box!
No, no!
Box!
- [audience cheers] - [Bautista, in Spanish] Good, good, good.
There, there, there.
[audience jeering]
[audience cheering]
[audience jeering]
[in Spanish] Stop! One...
[in English] ...three, four, five...
[in Spanish] ...six, seven, eight.
[bell dings]
Go lower.
[no audible dialogue]
It's done, Oscar.
Three more minutes, and you're the Argentinean heavyweight champion.
[referee, in English] Stop!
One!
Two!
Three!
Four! [bell dings]
[audience cheering]
[shouting]
[Juan in Spanish] Oscar!
- Very good. - Yeah, very good.
Very good! Very good!
[audience jeering]
[in English] That's my boy.
[announcer, in Spanish] Winner by unanimous decision,
and new Argentinean heavyweight champion,
Oscar Natalio "Ringo" Bonavena.
[audience cheering]
Sorry for everything I said. It was just for show, to sell tickets.
- Forgive me? - It's all right. You won well.
[audience, chanting] Bonavena! Bonavena!
- Well-deserved win. - Thank you, Mr. Tito.
I told you I'd be champion. Now I want them to bring me Folley.
I want to be world champion. I want to fight Cassius Clay.
[audience cheers]
[door slams]
Good, champ, good.
Go, leave me alone! Get the fuck out!
[sniffles]
[panting]
[breathing heavily]
[sobs]
[sniffles]
[sobbing]
[sniffles, breathing heavily]