OK, so "Rocky I" wasn't so bad (in my book). The big lug had his challenges in and out of the ring to overcome. But that movie shot for the big time, the big crowds, and the big excitement. Not bad, but after hearing that pep rally theme song a million times over the last 300 years, it's become more of a cartoon character than what it probably was originally intended to be. Thirty five sequels with exactly the same plot doesn't help this point of view.
No such problems with "GirlFight". This is a much smaller film about boxing where, as much as "Rocky" came from a less than desirable background, he doesn't have as many problems as Diana, the lead character has. While Rocky won the lottery to fight Apollo Creed, which makes him the Willie Wonka of boxing, Diana is never going to get such a break.
One of the magical things about the film is that Diana recognizes she has the small problem of getting into fights in high school. After her fourth scuffle in a semester, and the threat of expulsion, she's smart enough to realize that she needs an outlet, which she finds at the local gym that her brother is involved in. The brother is forced to take boxing lessons from her father, who wouldn't dream of letting a girl into the sport. That Diana steals and connives her way into the gym doesn't make her an outstanding person, but it is a gritty portrayal of a person's determination to try and accomplish something.
I live in Las Vegas, and have seen that there are growing opportunities in the world of female boxing. But that path was not so clear three or four years ago, when the movie was written. So I'll go with the plot situations that need her to fight males, or not fight at all. But while most movies would have some plot gimmick to occur in the ring, this movie just has her slugging it out. It pulls no punches (pun intended) to show that she has to fight for everything tooth and nail in the ring as much as she has to in life.
My daughter is in gymnastics, a sport in image as far away from boxing as it gets. But, although the movie has a lot of rough language, I've shown it to her as inspiration to see how obstacles in life have to be overcome as well as those in just the sport. I think she's learned to appreciate things a little more after the viewing (in my book).