On The Ropes, a fine documentary by Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen, spends roughly a year following the turbulent careers of three amateur boxers at the Bed-Stuy Boxing Center in Brooklyn. They include George Walton, a powerful Golden Gloves winner with a possible future in the pros; Noel Santiago, an erratic ne'er-do-well who has yet to win a bout; and, most interestingly, Tyrene Manson, a lean 30-year-old woman dogged by a drug-possession charge that appears groundless but threatens to send her back to prison. All are under the uncertain tutelage of manager Harry Keitt, who battled drug problems of his own and endured a long stay at Sing Sing. While comparisons to the superior Hoop Dreams—which spent five riveting years with a pair of inner-city basketball prodigies—are as inevitable as they are unflattering, On The Ropes is distinguished by its richly varied cast of characters. Of the three aspiring pugilists, only Walton stands an outside shot at the big time, and the number of possibly unscrupulous figures ("snakes," Keitt calls them, though he may be one himself) ready to exploit his talent serves as a sad reminder of Hoop Dreams. The other two are more compelling, because the gym serves as a stabilizing force in their desperately unfocused lives, a place of solace and guidance that's not unlike a church. In a particularly wrenching sequence, Burstein and Morgen bear witness to Manson's self-destructive testimony to an apathetic courtroom, as she unwittingly fuels an unjust verdict. Here, the film's darkest theme makes itself apparent: The sins of the past, for Manson and Keitt, never really go away, no matter how sincere their attempts to reform. With an insistent, sympathetic gaze, On The Ropes covers fights that are invariably tougher outside the ring.