Editing Against the Ropes (section)

===Critical response===
The film garnered negative reviews from critics. It received a {{RT data|score}} approval rating on [[Review aggregator|review aggregate]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on {{RT data|count}} reviews with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}, summarizing it as "a bland, dumbed-down package of sports cliches."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/against_the_ropes|title=Against the Ropes (2004)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]|access-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927083255/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/against_the_ropes|archive-date=September 27, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], it holds a score of 36 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/against-the-ropes|title=Against the Ropes|website=[[Metacritic]]|publisher=[[CBS Interactive]]|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821131834/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/against-the-ropes|archive-date=August 21, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[A. O. Scott]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' commended the performances for displaying "flashes of idiosyncrasy and flair" despite the "pedestrian script" but was critical of the film overall for having various "inspirational sports-movie clichés" and "competence that is more flat-footed than inspiring" in both the drama and boxing scenes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/20/movies/film-review-fearlessly-going-where-the-punches-are-flying.html|title=Film Review: Fearlessly Going Where The Punches Are Flying|last=Scott|first=A. O.|author-link=A. O. Scott|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 20, 2004|access-date=February 28, 2021|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927083239/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/20/movies/film-review-fearlessly-going-where-the-punches-are-flying.html|archive-date=September 27, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Marrit Ingman of ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' found Ryan "predictably fine" in the "plum role" of Jackie Kallen but criticized Dutton and Edwards for relying too much on "the well-worn underdog formula" when telling her story and not focusing on more "meatier" issues outside of the movie's text.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/2004-02-20/197377/|title=Against the Ropes - Movie Review|last=Ingman|first=Marrit|newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]]|date=February 20, 2004|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228043129/https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/2004-02-20/197377/|archive-date=February 28, 2021|url-status=live}} {{Rating|2|5}}</ref> Scott Tobias of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' wrote that: "True to form, ''Against The Ropes'' favors a much tamer version of the real thing, never getting into the deep fissures that led to the real-life Kallen's long estrangement with Toney. Right up to the ludicrous finale and an even more improbable denouement, everything rings Hollywood-false. More galling still, the filmmakers' inventions take the zing out of the facts."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/against-the-ropes-1798199403|title=Against The Ropes|last=Tobias|first=Scott|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|publisher=[[The Onion]]|date=February 17, 2004|access-date=February 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228042229/https://film.avclub.com/against-the-ropes-1798199403|archive-date=February 28, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Nick Schager of ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' criticized the film for being a "lackluster melodrama" with a script containing "corny clichés and metaphors" that uses prejudice to add color to their story, concluding that: "While Dutton's fight scenes are directed with reasonable panache, the rest of the film's visuals are so blandly static that one can imagine the ease with which ''Against the Ropes'' will be pan-and-scanned for television."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/against-the-ropes/|title=Review: Against the Ropes|last=Schager|first=Nick|magazine=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=January 23, 2004|access-date=February 28, 2021}} {{Rating|1.5|4}}</ref>

However, the film did receive some positive reviews; [[Roger Ebert]] gave it 3 stars out of 4, remarking:
:"It works near the end of "Against the Ropes," a biopic about Jackie Kallen, who was (and is) the first female fight promoter in the all-male world of professional boxing. It works, and another cliche works, too: the Big Fight scene, right out of "Rocky" and every other boxing movie, in which the hero gets pounded silly but then somehow, after becoming inspired between rounds, comes back and is filled with skill and fury."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/against-the-ropes-2004|title=Against the Ropes|last=Ebert|first=Roger|author-link=Roger Ebert|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|publisher=[[Sun-Times Media Group]]|date=February 20, 2004|access-date=February 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418064828/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/against-the-ropes-2004|archive-date=April 18, 2020|url-status=live|via=[[RogerEbert.com]]}} {{Rating|3|4}}</ref>