In 1968 a young aboriginal boxer with a charming smile punched
his way to history when he stopped Fighting Harada in Japan over
fifteen rounds. His name was Lionel Rose and he became the
undisputed world bantamweight champion. Two hundred and fifty
thousand people hit the streets of Melbourne to welcome him back
and he went on to become a symbolic figure in the interracial
politics of the times.
Combining a remarkable selection of archival and present day
observational footage and interviews, the film explores how
Lionel became a mythic sporting figure and his struggle with the
dimensions of that myth in his everyday life.