They're Just My Friends (2006)

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A cruiserweight boxing champion in the process of training to become pro finds his interracial romance fanning the flames of hate and offering a newfound sense of clarity in a semi-autobiographical drama directed by Attika Torrence and starring real-life boxing sensation Punchin' Pat Nwamu. In the wake of his father's death, Pat begins to align himself with a local group of Italian-American gangsters while attempting to establish a concrete sense of community. Though Pat shows great promise in the boxing ring, his future career is suddenly thrown into question when he enters into an ill-advised relationship with neighborhood girl Gina (Rue Debona). The Guido Boys are a racist, Howard Beach neighborhood street gang who don't take kindly to interracial relationships, and before long Pat is locked up in the local jail. Though he may have taken a beating or two during the course of his career, Pat definitely has the brains to match his brawn, and after getting a second chance at life on the outside thanks to his physical talents and connections with local Lodge member and sympathetic father figure Frank Gibbs (Bruce Altman), this determined athlete is finally prepared to re-evaluate his questionable friendships and start from scratch no matter how bumpy the road that lies ahead. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi