Part of a cycle of ring fighter movies, mostly boxing, some wrestling, initiated by the box-office and critical success of the Academy Award Best Picture winning boxing movie Rocky (1976). The films include Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Tough Enough (1983), Title Shot, Raging Bull (1980), The Champ (1979), Matilda (1978), The Main Event (1979), The Prize Fighter (1979), The Greatest (1977), Body and Soul (1981), Paradise Alley (1978), ...All the Marbles (1981), The One and Only (1978), Every Which Way But Loose (1978) and Any Which Way You Can (1980).
Michael Picard was 16 when this film was made and he skipped school to watch it being filmed near his High School in Kitchener Ontario. Michael ended up with being cast as an extra in the film for the fight scenes. This was Michael's first experience with acting in a movie. He also performed magic for a private performance for Tony Curtis, who loves magic.