I don't have HBO, so I can't comment on the quality of the recently premiered "Assault in the Ring," a documentary about the controversial, and ultimately criminal, 1983 boxing match between Billy Collins Jr., an up-and-coming, undefeated prospect, and journeyman Luis Resto.
The documentary, which was broadcast over the weekend, has received pretty good reviews, and rightfully so, I'd imagine. It really is a terrifying story. Resto basically beat the hell out of Collins, battering his face so badly Collins couldn't open his eyes the following day. But, as is usually the case in boxing, there's more to the story than just the 15 rounds. Immediately after the match, Collins' father, who was also his trainer, noticed that Resto's gloves were missing several inches of padding, which meant Resto just spent roughly 30 minutes beating the younger Collins with, essentially, his bare fists. Even worse, as the documentary points out, Resto, before the fight, in collaboration with his trainer, Panama Lewis, had wrapped his hands in plaster of Paris, which, turned his fists into rocks.
After the fight, about three years later, Resto were charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and conspiracy. Resto served a little more than two years in prison. He lost his boxing license and, at least as of last year, currently lives in the basement of the Bronx's Morris Park Boxing Gym, the same gym he trained at as a fighter. Lewis's boxing license was revoked, barring him from ever officially participating in match within the United States. Collins, meanwhile, spiraled out of control. Because of a torn iris, he wasn't allowed back in the ring. He started drinking and abusing drugs. Just one year removed from the Resto fight, he drove his car off the road, in a suburb of Tennessee, his home state.
It's a terribly sad and shocking story. Here's the trailer, which is one of the best I've seen in a very long time. If the documentary is as good as this teaser cut, we've got a good ones on our hands.
