64 Day Hero: A Boxer's Tale
British Film Institute
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1h 33m
Directed by Franco Rosso • Documentary • 1985 • 92 minutes
In this compelling and thought-provoking documentary, sports writer and novelist Gordon Williams uses archive footage, as well as interviews with family members and friends, to investigate the troubled life of the mixed-race British boxing hero Randolph Turpin.
In 1951, after defeating the American Sugar Ray Robinson for the title Middleweight Champion of the World, 23-year-old Turpin became a national hero. He held the title for only 64 days before losing a rematch with Robinson. Turpin's reign as a sporting hero was over, and the subsequent years of scandal, bankruptcy and humiliation led him to an early death at the age of 38.
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