HBO's overview of '80s scandal takes an uplifting turn

About 30 minutes into Eric Drath’s documentary about the 1980s’ most vivid boxing scandal, you’ll think the subject has been covered quite exhaustively. But what really makes “Assault in the Ring” brilliant is what occurs after that.

You may remember the story of Irish Billy Collins, a boxing version of Larry Bird who was a star in the making as of his June 16, 1983 fight with veteran Nuyorican welterweight Luis Resto. Resto’s trainer, the sinister Panama Lewis, had been part of Aaron Pryor’s epic victory over Alexis Arguello the previous autumn..

Resto scored an upset, battering Collins’ face with surprising force. It was quickly discovered that the padding had been removed from Resto’s gloves. Collins was never the same and died in a late-night car accident a decade later back home in the middle of Tennessee.

That’s the story of Billy Collins, which is HBO’s low-key approach to hyping this documentary of which it is justly proud. But Drath’s real triumph is the story of Luis Resto as the filmmaker’s inquiries truly bring a broken man to grips with the central facts of his life and a real shot – in his mid-fifties – at redemption.

Drath is a blend of filmmaker Michael Moore and TV detective Columbo as he manages to convince Resto that the truth will set him free. He takes aim on doing the same for Lewis, but the old trainer seems incorrigible.

There are numerous reporting coups, ranging from the composition of the materials surrounding Resto’s fists to the wide range of the scandal, including Pryor-Arguello.

There also are nits to pick, and perhaps HBO will pick them off before the Aug. 1 premiere. Lots of grammar and syntax errors pervade the graphics of the demo. Drath still has time to notice that Resto doesn’t pronounce his first name the French way, and that NY Boxing Examiner Michael Marley spells his first name conventionally.

Nevertheless, “Assault in the Ring” is a definitive overview of boxing at its most tragic. HBO seldom loses sight of what isn’t pretty about the sport as it strives to illustrate what’s beautiful about it.