World champion boxer Johnny Monterez has had 84 fights -- never knocked out, knocked down only once -- but he's begun to worry. A hand injury has him thinking his championship days are numbered. And he's resentful and concerned about making his way in what he calls the "gringo world." So Johnny makes a rash move, dumping his longtime promoter for another's promise of a secure future. He also underestimates an eager, hammer-fisted opponent and agrees to meet him in a title bout. Johnny's career may suddenly be down for the count. John Sturges (The Great Escape) directs this tale of Johnny (Ricardo Montalban) and the people in his orbit: his veteran promoter (Lionel Barrymore), a hard-drinking sports scribe (Dick Powell) and a fight-savvy woman (June Allyson, the off-screen Mrs. Powell) who shares an on-again, off-again romance with Johnny. Uncredited Marilyn Monroe has a bit role in a restaurant sequence.