A biopic charting the early years of welterweight boxer 'Irish' Micky Ward, and the troubles he faced living in the shadow of his half-brother Dicky Eklund, a drug addict, who survives on the glory of his one fight against Sugar Ray Leonard. To stop being a stepping-stone for other fighters, he'll need to leave his family ties behind and step up his own game otherwise he'll forever be an also-ran on the road to someone else's success.

When Dicky is sent down after the arrest, Micky makes a promise to Charlene and the others that he will not allow Dicky or his mother Alice into their training camp, and will try to break most casual contact with them.  It works, and with the help of the businessman-promoter Sal he starts to win fair fights again.

Suddenly he is up for a HBO primetime clash against the undefeated Mexican Alfonso Sanchez.  Micky visits Dicky in jail before the fight. Dicky gives him some harsh truths, and advice on how best to win the fight. Micky doesn't want to hear it.

The fight is going badly - Micky barely throws any punches and is being smacked around. The referee tells him to show more fight or he'll have to end the contest. In the next round Sanchez starts to tire. Micky throws a hard kidney-punch with his left, and Sanchez falls. Micky now has his first title shot.

Back home, Dicky is out. He is straight round the gym with Alice and his sisters, and immediately this causes tension with Charlene and the trainers. Micky tells his mother and sisters to go home, and explains to Dicky about the promise he made. Again the mother takes Dicky's side.

Dicky takes his "welcome home" cake to the crack house, and leaves it with his old friends outside. He calls round Charlene's apartment, and they clear the air. For the good of Micky they agree to work together - after all it was with Dicky's advice that Micky beat Sanchez. A new man, Dicky pushes Micky in training and becomes the brother he never was.

The title fight against Liverpudlian Shea Neary in England. Micky looks to be losing with his typical "rope a dope" tactics, when he is knocked to the canvas. He makes it to the end of the round, where Dicky motivates him in the corner. Micky finally comes out fighting, catches Shea with a good hook, and wins by knock out.

As it ends we meet the two brothers in real life. Just before the credits we're told that Ward went on to fight in 3 huge bouts against Gutti, where he earned his first seven figure fight purse. He married Charlene, and retired from boxing in 2005.