They could Have Been (Oscar) Contenders

Ever since Wallace Beery won the Best Actor Oscar in 1932 for playing a boozy palooka in The Champ, a throng of fight flicks have gained top acting nominations for two-fisted performances. HILARY SWANK, in Million Dollar Baby, vies this year for her second Best Actress award. She may be an odds-on favorite, but history tells us that most boxing roles aren't knockouts.

NAME John Garfield

FILM Body and Soul

YEAR 1947

DECISION Garfield stayed down for the count, but the picture won an Oscar for Best Film Editing

NAME Sylvester Stallone

FILM Rocky

YEAR 1976

DECISION Stallone and co-stars Talia Shire and Burgess Meredith all lost. But Rocky won gold for Best Picture and Best Directing

NAME Robert De Niro

FILM Raging Bull

YEAR 1980

DECISION Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner. De Niro picked up his one and only Best Actor statue for his portrayal of Jake LaMotta

NAME Will Smith

FILM Ali

YEAR 2001

DECISION Smith played the Greatest but lost the Best to Denzel Washington (Training Day), also nominated in 1999 for playing Hurricane Carter