g_williams21 Review of Assault in the Ring

Assault in the Ring (2008)

Engrossing and very sad and disturbing

[6/10 · 19 February 2011]

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