布洛克（罗素·克劳 Russell Crowe 饰）除了是一名过气的拳击手，还是三个孩子的父亲。当他的拳击生涯走下坡路后，紧接着而来的是生活的拮据和入不敷出的家庭状况。幸好有贤惠美丽的妻子梅（芮妮·齐薇格 Renée Zellweger 饰）理解支持，她的从不埋怨和勤劳持家，令这个家庭不至于毫无生机。布洛克放下自尊去排队领取救济金，却挡不住严冬的即将来临，家里食物短缺，生存问题迫在眉睫。 布洛克终于决定重上拳击台，这是他可以挽救家人的唯一办法。他的复出引来了民众的关注，成为了人们心中的平民英雄。他在比赛中英勇挥拳，为了男人的尊严，为了家人的生存。
The story takes place in New York and New Jersey during the Great Depression, a time when people experienced the worst economic hardship in U.S. history. James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) was a light heavyweight boxer, who was forced to retired from the ring after breaking his hand in his last fight. His wife Mae (Renee Zellweger) had prayed for years that he would quit boxing, before becoming permanently injured. To support his family, Braddock works as a laborer at the docks, but he still has a dream to box. Several years after his last fight, Braddock's old manager wants him to be a last-minute substitute to fight against the second-ranked world contender. In this case, Braddock is one of those hungry fighters who astonishes everyone by winning the fight. Braddock is back in the ring and begins to win all his fights against younger, stronger, and heavier boxers. In a sports article, Braddock is named the "Cinderella Man" for his miraculous comeback. Braddock gets a chance to fight the heavyweight champion, Max Baer (Craig Bierko), for the title. Max Baer had killed two men in the ring, and everybody believed Braddock would be number three. As the underdog, Braddock became the champion of the downtrodden masses. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)
