Shirts please, uncles!

Will the ancient Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro embarrass themselves in Grudge Match?

I've never seen a bad boxing movie.

Having sat through at least 25 movies about boxers over the decades (can't be bothered to count), I can't think of one off the top of my head that was a complete stinker.

A couple of the Rocky sequels, maybe?

All I can really remember are great pictures exploring the timeless theme of beefy men - and a few gals - punching each other in the face.

The Champ, When We Were Kings, Cinderella Man, Pulp Fiction, Million Dollar Baby, The Fighter, Girlfight, The Hurricane, The Boxer, Rust and Bone, Fat City, the list goes on.

Of course, the two greatest boxing movies of all time are arguably the original Rocky (1976) and Raging Bull (1980), starring Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro respectively.

Now, these two titans are combining their powers to create Grudge Match, a boxing movie for the ages - or more accurately the aged.

The question is, will Grudge Match end up being the one boxing movie in history that makes us all cringe in embarrassment?

These men are 70 years old for goodness' sake (well, Stallone is just shy of being a septuagenarian at 67).

Do we really want to see them SHIRTLESS?

GREAT FUN

Of course, there are some doubters out there on the loathsome Internet, but I think this flick about geriatric pugilists actually looks like great fun.

Stallone and De Niro play old rivals Razor and The Kid respectively.

Their last fight was 30 years ago, and they are being coaxed out of retirement to decide once and for all who is the better man, at least when it comes to punching other men in the face.

Quite wisely, the film doesn't take itself too seriously.

There are jokes about saggy man boobs, because how could there not be?

The really funny thing is that Stallone has now been selling himself as an over-the-hill boxer since the 1970s.

He was 30 when he made the first Rocky and played the tired-old-guy card.

He has been going at this same concept for almost four decades!

But that's fine.

In the end, it's very cute that these two screen gods, who've both enjoyed very successful but very different sorts of careers, have come together.

No doubt they're doing it for the money, but I'll bet you they also feel a bit sentimental about the whole endeavour.

I know I do. It really makes me want to go out and punch some of MY old rivals in the face.

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