Ringside in the Mountains is a one-hour documentary that uncovers the era when some of the greatest boxers were training in the Catskills.

Until watching We Met at Grossinger’s the other day, I didn’t even have the faintest clue about the history of boxing in the Catskills. It’s one of those things that ought to get out in the open, and thanks to Ringside in the Mountains, it will. What was it about the Catskills that made this area the epicenter? The film goes through a roll call during the end credits, showing how some of the 20th century’s greatest boxers trained at the Avon Lodge, Concord Hotel, Hotel Evans, Granit Hotel, Grossinger’s, Kutsher’s Hotel, Last Hotel, Nemerson Hotel, Nevele Hotel, Pines Resort, Stevensville Hotel, Tamarack Lodge, and Villa Roma Resort.

It wasn’t a one-off. Ringside in the Mountains shows how fighters trained for the better part of six decades, even past the heyday of the Borscht Belt. None of their training sessions were closed either—you could catch them sparring as you moved from one activity to the next. For much of the New York-based sports press, like Damon Runyon and Red Smith, they didn’t have to travel far to watch legends at work. For vacationing Jews and others, it was just another added perk during a time when Jews weren’t welcome at racist hotels and lodges.

Ringside in the Mountains weaves in archival footage, photographs, and interviews as it brings this untold story back to life. Boxing champions, journalists, historians, and local residents share their own recollections. Much like a boxing fight itself, the film is framed through individual rounds.

Given the long history, it’s no surprise that the bulk of them trained at Grossinger’s. Ringside in the Mountains drives it home during a credits montage. It also speaks to a time in American cultural history that existed for one shining moment, so to speak. One of the driving factors is how Jews were excluded from established hotels in the early 1900s, leading to the rise of the Borscht Belt. Thousands of hotels, bungalows, and rooming houses were built in Sullivan County. The Jewish owners were inclusive, welcoming Black, Hispanic, and other minorities, including athletes.

The hotels didn’t care what color you were. Jackie Robinson called Grossinger’s a second home. But when Barney Ross started training in the Catskills, that forever changed the future of boxers training at Grossinger’s and the like. As John Conway says, “Grossinger’s really was the hotel that perfected bringing the boxers there and making a show of it.” Barney Ross trained there free of charge. When Malka Grossinger found out, she wasn’t so thrilled—until she met him. Rocky Marciano is probably the one boxer who might just be inseparable from Grossinger’s.

The one that got me in Ringside in the Mountains is how Muhammad Ali personally drove a bus of media to the Catskills. Ali Center archivist Amelia McGrath shares an anecdote about Ali’s first appearance prior to formally training, which took place in 1965. It turns out that The Greatest was not so great about driving in the winter and drove into a snowdrift, overturning the bus. His license had been suspended at the time. He was there to heckle some of the fighters he would later face in the ring.

In 1972, Ali created the Catskills training camp in Deer Lake, Pa. He wouldn’t start formally training in the Catskills for a few years later, but it speaks to the influence of the Catskills. Without seeing the love coming from the Catskills, his Deer Lake training camp might never have become a thing. He returned to train in the Catskills prior to the Ken Norton fight in 1976—one such location was the Concord Hotel. He went so far as to annoy Norton at Grossinger’s to get a psychological advantage. Being a Louisville native, it’s just lovely to take in the Ali stories.

Ringside in the Mountains runs on the short side, at barely an hour long, but the Evan Haiman-directed documentary packs a lot of fight and many fun stories to boot.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Evan Haiman
NARRATOR: Mark Lucas
FEATURING: Flo Anthony, Ed Brophy, John Conway, Gerry Cooney, Roberto Durán, Stephen Ehrlich, Randy Gordon, Henry Hascup, Larry Holmes, Art Hussey Jr., Mark Kram Jr., Don Lalonde, Barry Lewis, Don Majeski, Amelia McGrath, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Tracy Harris Patterson, Steve Pinto, Dennis Rappaport, Rick Saphire, Lou Savarese, Michael Spinks, Mick Stefanek, Jose Toledo, Tim Witherspoon

Ringside in the Mountains holds its Southeast US premiere during the 2026 Miami Jewish Film Festival. Grade: 4/5

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