Forget ‘the UK’s answer to Rocky’ — new Pierce Brosnan movie Giant is the Billy Elliot of boxing

It's all about the footwork

09 Jan 2026, 09:45 · TechRadar

Features By Jasmine Valentine published 9 January 2026

Pierce Brosnan (Brendan Ingles) and Amir El-Masry (Prince Naseem) in Giant. (Image credit: Vertical) Share Share by:

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As a Brit, I'm pretty ashamed that I didn't already know who 'Prince' Naseem Hamed was. Thankfully, new 2026 movie Giant is on hand to course-correct that, following the rise and fall of the world boxing champion from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

He might have thrown a knockout punch or two at Madison Square Gardens, but he comes from Sheffield, trained under the watchful eye of local legend Brendan Ingle. The pair worked together until the height of Naseem's career, where an epic falling out caused them to split and never reconcile.

You might be reading this thinking it sounds incredibly similar to the Rocky movies, and many would agree with you. In fact, right above James Bond and Mamma Mia! star Pierce Brosnan's head on the movie poster is a quote claiming Giant as the UK version of the Sylvester Stallone classic.

However, I came away from watching the film with a completely different perspective. If anything, Giant is more like the Billy Elliot of boxing – and when I put this to Brosnan (Ingle) and Amir El-Masry (Naseem), they were already using it as a reference.

No offence to Rocky, but Giant is much more than just throwing a punch

Billy Elliot 20th anniversary - official trailer - YouTube

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Listen... Billy Elliot might just be one of the best British movies of all time. It embodies the clash between toxic and vulnerable masculinity, following your passion and talent in the face of all odds, and having the right mentor to nurture the very best of it all. Of course, having exceptional footwork doesn't hurt either.

Although there's no T-Rex soundtrack in Giant, it follows the above themes almost to the letter. If you're looking for the ideal double bill this month, here it is.

"When we were talking to Rowan [Athale, director], his reference was the boxing Billy Elliot," El-Masry tells me. "It's very ingrained culturally as a Northern drama. I think that's something quite unique and special about it. It's nice that people are making the Rocky comparison, and it's nice that the person who made Rocky has put his stamp of approval on this. But I think it's more apt that it is compared to Billy Elliot in that sense."

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