spoiler a powerful film about a man who use his body to achieve fame and fortune beyond his wild dream and almost lose his soul do it . not be able to sleep before the big champion fight charlie davis and john garfield and drive down to his old neighborhood where he find out that his mother and girlfriend and all of the people who know him there do not want anything to do with him . back in his dressing room before the fight charlie remind by the matchmaker robert and lloyd gough and that the fight with his opponent marlow be to go the distance and the decision will be against him . the inside talk be that the good money be on marlow . charlie and try to calm down his nerve before the fight and lay down to get some sleep and slowly his past come back to haunt him in a dream . be bring up in a poor and tough neighborhood charlie take to box a a young boy in the golden glove . with his mother anna and anne revere and be against him box charlie try to find a new line of employment later when charlie father david and art smith and be kill in a bombing of his candy store by some mobster and who mistake it for a rival speakeasy and and then with no money to pay the bill charlie decides that boxing be the only way for him and his family to get out of poverty . turn pro charlie run up a string of 21 win in the ring and roberts the top matchmaker in the state set up a match between charlie and the champ ben chaplin and canada lee and for the title . ben have a dangerous blood clot in his brain and his manager want charlie to be tell to go easy with ben in the fight . robert doesn not tell charlie of ben condition and in the championship fight charlie hit ben with a number of hard shot to the head that leave ben on the mat unconscious . shock after the fight to find out that ben be in no condition to fight charlie feel that his title and in knock the already brain damage ben and be taint . put ben on his payroll a his trainer and because he feel that he owe ben something after what he do to him and charlie defend his title a number of time but now he up against a much young and more formidable opponent then those he fight and marlow . marlow have be go around claim that charlie be duck him for two year because he yellow . with charlie set to defend his title he tell by robert not to try to knock marlow out but to go the distance with him know that would mean that the decision would go against charlie . charlie at first agrees know that there a big pay off for him in the fight . with bet his share of the money that he will get for the fight and $ 60 and 000 . 00 and against himself and with the odds 2 to 1 on marlow charlie can triple his money and retire from box a rich man . tell his mom and girlfriend peggy and lilli palmer and and all his friend to bet against him shock them . throw the fight be wrong and dishonest he tell which in return and not realize what he plan to do and shock charlie . charlie tell them that they aren not smart to know what the real thing in life be and that why he successful and their not and he the one who be support them and his family and friend and all these year because he doesn not think like they do . with a huff charlie leave for his training camp in the country to get ready for the fight with marlow . at the camp roberts tell charlie to fire his trainer ben feeling that ben be have a bad influence on charlie . ben make him have second thought about throw the fight . ben angry and agitate at robert and whom he never like in the first place and go into a fit . swing his arm wildly like he be back in the boxing ring ben lose his balance and fall on his head kill himself while and with that charlie wake up from his sleep . in the ring the fight go into the late round with charlie carry marlow for the first fourteen round with only one round leave for him to throw and lose the fight to marlow . charlie and just three minute away from lose the fight to marlow and have a sudden change of heart . after what happen to ben and and how bad he act to his mom girlfriend and all of his friend who be count on him to do his best in the fight and win lose or draw and he realize just what a heel he be . charlie also realize what a jerk he turn in now get his brain beat out in order to enrich a bunch of gangster who will use him for as long a he be still useful to them and when he isn not they will drop him just like they do ben . charlie with a sudden and explosive flurry of fist and leather open up on marlow and clobber him to the mat where he count out and charlie retain his title . leave the box arena with the crowd cheering and and his girlfriend back by his side and robert and some of his goon confront charlie and tell him that he will be sorry for what he do . charlie davis end the movie with it most famous line in it represent what be you go to do to me . kill me . everyone die .