In 1936, African American boxer Joe Louis (Leonard Roberts), trained by Jack Blackburn (Richard Roundtree), is undefeated and apparently invincible.

Then Jewish-American boxing manager Joe Jacobs (David Paymer) obtains a film of his fight against Paulino Uzcudun in Madison Square Garden.

Jacobs delivers the film to his client, German heavyweight champion Max Schmeling (Til Schweiger).

He is revered by the public, but his wife Marva (Siena Goines) leaves him because she can't deal with the effect this has on him.

Eventually he has to serve as a soldier in the Fallschirmjäger while Joe Louis does exhibition fights for the United States Army.

Max Schmeling is eventually lucky because an American boxing official remembers him when Coca-Cola is looking for an appropriate representative in Germany.

Critics judged the DVD was worthwhile watching for boxing fans although the film had palpably been made for TV.