Sunday night, the world watched Michael B. Jordan on the Oscar stage, clutching a Best Actor trophy for his work in “Sinners.” It was a career-defining moment for an actor whom many of us first truly saw when he stepped into the ring as Adonis Creed.
While Hollywood does a fine job of recreating the drama of the boxing world, there is a certain kind of magic and a certain kind of grit that can’t be scripted. It needs to be lived. As filmmaker Evan Haiman shows us in his new documentary, “Ringside in the Mountains,” that life was once lived most vibrantly in the heart of the Catskills.
There was a time when the road to a world title didn’t run through a neon-soaked high-tech lab in Las Vegas. It ran through the winding, two-lane blacktop of Sullivan County, past the neon signs of the Borscht Belt and into the crisp, thin air of the Catskills.
In his documentary, Haiman peels back the faded floral wallpaper of New York’s iconic Jewish resorts to reveal the high-stakes training camps that fueled boxing’s golden era. It is a story of an unlikely intersection: where high-society glamour met the brutal reality of the Sweet Science.
The 12-Round Structure
Haiman swiftly and neatly structures the film into twelve “rounds,” mirroring the championship distance. We move from the early days of Rocky Marciano at Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel to the fun stories of Muhammad Ali, who used the Catskills as the blueprint for his Deer Lake camp, eventually landing in the twilight of the era with a young, ferocious Mike Tyson.
Humanity of the Big Bear: Sonny Liston
Perhaps the most poignant chapter of the film belongs to Sonny Liston. While the public saw Liston as an intimidating, mob-linked monster, Haiman uncovers a softer side of the man during his time at The Pines Hotel.
In the mountains, Liston found a rare kind of peace, riding his bicycle through the streets and running trails trailed by local kids who idolized him. To them, he wasn’t the ‘Big Bear.’ He was just Sonny.
Grit, Glamour, and Brisket
The heart of this film is the contrast. You have legends like Roberto Durán and Gerry Cooney grinding out roadwork while families in swimsuits head to the pool. Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini provides some of the best color, joking about being a ‘token Jew’ because he embraced the resort lifestyle and the kosher catering so completely.
The Final Score: Carrying the Torch
It would have been easy or even a little cliché to end the film with the imagery of the ruins of the once mighty hotels, many of which still sit in silent decay. This is not what Haiman chooses to see.
While the grand hotels like Grossinger’s and Kutsher’s Hotel and Country Club have long since faded into history, “Ringside in the Mountains” reminds us that the spirit of that era didn’t just vanish; it migrated and continues to evolve.
You can still find that mountain grit today in men like Jose Toledo. Through his Untouchables Boxing Club, Toledo continues the legacy of the Catskills, fostering the same discipline and heart that once filled the hotel gyms. He’s a living bridge to that golden age, proving that while the buildings may fall, the blueprint for a champion remains the same.
Haiman has captured more than just sports history. He perfectly captures a lost ecosystem. For any New York fight fan, this is a must-watch tribute to a time when the mountains weren’t just a backdrop, they were the proving ground for kings.
New Yorkers will have a chance to see the film on the big screen and review for themselves at the Nyack Film Festival on Saturday, March 28, starting at 1 p.m. sharp. More information here.
A lifelong resident of Long Island, New York, Matthew Pomara, MMP, has always followed the sweet science. He caught the tail end of the Ali era, was a staunch follower of the Four Kings of the 80’s, loved the great expansion of the sport in the 90’s and has stayed with boxing through the 2000s. He has been published in The Ring Magazine and loves contributing to @NYFights. He can be found on Twitter @pomara_matt