The film opens at the end of James Braddock's first reign in the world of boxing. His coach Gould placed him in a fight that gives him the chance to increase his purse up to $75 per match. The increase in salary would do wonders for the state of life his family has fallen into. His wife, Mae, and three children live in an apartment in Jersey with accumulated overdue bills. James does everything in his power to try to provide for his family during a terrible depression. Unfortunately, James loses his match in the most embarrassing way possible. It's so serious that his fighting license is withdrawn. To make matters worse, his right hand was broken, making his sporadic trips to the docks a struggle to hide his injury. But the injury turns out to be a blessing of sorts. Because he can't use his right hand, James strengthens what is usually his weak arm in the ring, making it brutal two-handed strength. A few months later, after having had to send the children to live with a relative, Gould offers James a new fight. He didn't get the license back, it's just a one night stand in the ring. To the surprise of everyone, including himself, Braddock wins the fight, making headlines and reigniting the uphill battle for the sport. Growing up, my family was not rich at all. We lived in a double wide trailer from the age of 7 until I was 16. The trailer park we lived in was very run down and “ghetto”. There were times I came home from school and the power was out and other times I turned on the TV and there was no cable. My parents both owned their own small businesses but didn't always have work to do. I remember standing in line every Wednesday at the awareness center in the middle of a paper... For James Braddock, we always knew that he chose his profession because his family came first. Boxing was a way out of poverty, a way to make sure his children had the milk and food and light they needed, to keep the tension and worry away from his wife's face. So even watching the brutal fights in the ring, we knew what he was fighting for and why he was determined to win. Two scenes stand out to me: his trip to Madison Square Garden, to the wheelers and to the dealership, to beg for money to pay the bills that will bring his children home. You can feel so strongly the humiliation of this proud man and the cruelty of some of the men in the room that you could have sat there with them as he left, cap in hand, for all he could get. The other scene was his face. facing Mae, his wife, as he tells her how much he needs her love.