In Bleed for This, Miles Teller stars as Pazienza in one of sport’s greatest comeback stories: the true-life tale of how the Rhode Island brawler tragically lost almost everything just as he reached the pinnacle of his profession and how he defied medical science and common sense to return to the ring and win another championship belt. In the trailer below, Pazienza works overtime to drop those last few pounds in order to make weight for a 1988 title bout against Roger Mayweather, and thanks to Paz’s male thong at the press conference, it’s clear that Teller (Whiplash) put in the necessary gym work to convincingly portray a boxer. After the car accident, Pazienza is saddled with a halo that is screwed into his skull to help his recuperation, but he refuses to settle for anything but the life he once had. “I’m not done,” Teller says. “I got more in me.” His return to the ring includes some bloody brawls that made Rocky Balboa fights seem tame, but no one who ever got in the ring with Pazienza after his accident wanted it more than he did.
Directed by Ben Younger (Boiler Room) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Bleed for This opens in limited release on Nov. 4 before going wide on Nov. 23.