Film chronicles Golden stories

NEVER COUNT out the heart of a champion.

For nearly a century, the Daily News Golden Gloves tournament has given aspiring young boxers the opportunity to put their skills to the test and see what they are made of in the ring.

The tournament is nine weeks long and it is the biggest amateur boxing event in the world.

“It really is the best opportunity for fighters,” executive producer of the boxing documentary “Cradle of Champions,” Donald Rosenfeld, said. “To think that for 90 years of NY Golden Gloves, a tradition of excellence and hard work and perseverance with some of the greatest boxers of all time having won. This serves as a deep inspiration.”

Rosenfeld, who became a fan of boxing through his father, had the opportunity to see one former Gloves champion and arguably the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, fight in the inter-City Golden Gloves Championship at MSG.

“I was hooked from that night on,” Rosenfeld said. “Ali lifted me up in a crowded parking lot and signed my program from that night. My father led me to become so interested in boxing.”

The documentary goes behind the scenes with the boxers in the 2015 Golden Gloves tournament trying to make a name for themselves. The film won at the 14th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival for best feature.

“It really is a great honor to be a part of this,” Rosenfeld said, “For the film to win at Big Sky, really will open the door for us, and open the door just a bit more to work with a major film studio and put it on the big screen.”

Many consider boxing to be a dying sport as competitors like the UFC continue to grow, but the Golden Gloves tournament has continuously been one of the few bright spots in the boxing world.

“Boxing, in its elegance and relative simplicity is a sport that has found its greatest following and the finest boxers in the United States,” Rosenfeld said. “Boxing will always create new fans of all ages.”

Over the past few years, Rosenfeld has also supported the Golden Gloves. He is sponsoring tonight’s bout at the Joe Louis Harlem PAL Center, marking the third year of Rosenfeld underwriting the costs of the event.

Rosenfeld is also working with The Sebastian Mountain Trust to focus on the fight for better educational opportunities for young boxers.

“We are in the early stages but we hope it will have a positive impact in certain areas,” Rosenfeld said.

“Boxing is such a great sport. Events like this and films such as Cradle of Champions serve the audience of the present and the future.”

Harlem PAL is located at 441 Manhattan Ave on 119th Street. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the first bout will be at 7:30 p.m.