Seven decades of broken noses, broken records, and the men who ruled the world.
The BBC produced “Kings of The Ring – History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990” celebrates boxing’s marquee division. Comprehensive and nonjudgmental, it begins with Jess Willard’s victory over Jack Johnson in Cuba and runs through the Mike Tyson era.
Editing
Seamlessly stitching grainy silent footage to Tysonmania.
Production
BBC access to boxing's holy grail of archives.
Writing
Narration that knows when to shut up and let punches speak.
Director
Jean-Christophe Rosé
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jean-Christophe Rosé later directed French football docs; this was his rare English-language project, commissioned for BBC2's sports archive season.
Released during Tyson's 1995 comeback post-prison, the documentary's 'ending' at 1990 was already nostalgic — audiences knew the tragedy that followed.
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