During the Great Depression, former successful boxer James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) loses all of his possessions and savings with the crash of the stock market. His beloved wife Mae Braddock (Renée Zellweger) and their three children survive starvation and lack of heating and the daily difficulties supported by their love. In 1934, when James' Coach and Manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) offers to him a chance to return to boxing, he becomes the symbol of hope of hopeless people in a ruined nation.