Director Katya Bankowsky began filming Shadow Boxers, a documentary about woman fighters, in 1995 when, after 68 years of being an all-male event, the prestigious New York Golden Gloves tournament finally allowed women to compete.  Much to the astonishment of the male-dominated sport, the women turned boxing on its ear by proving girls can be just as ferocious as boys in the ring.

Boxers concentrates on a former kickboxing champion from Holland named Lucia Rijker.  She describes the sport as addictive and all-consuming, telling stories about other fighters who abandoned their men and their children to pursue success between the ropes.  Beautiful and well spoken (at least for now), we see Rijker gain both confidence and credibility with each opponent she faces.

There is another fighter who gets some quality screen time toward the beginning of Boxers.  Jill “Flyin’ Lion” Matthews, a diminutive, smart-mouthed (at least for now) boxer who turns pro after winning her division of the Golden Gloves, facetiously asks if her makeup is messed up when she steps out of the ring.  When a reporter asks how she prepares for her fights, she quickly snaps back, “With a manicure and a pedicure.”

But the real draw to Boxers is the way Bankowsky pieces together the boxing scenes.  They’re elegant and hypnotic, playing out in slow motion over a hip-hop soundtrack.  Bankowsky also switches between color stock and grainy black-and-white film, which only adds to the film’s dream-like quality.

Bankowsky also edited and produced Boxers, which starts to drag a bit toward the end, when the film isn’t concentrating on boxing.  The only other knock I can give the film is the repetitive score provided by DJ Zoël, a former MTV Latino VJ.  Boxers isn’t a first-round knockout, but it’s probably a second-round TKO.  Even if you dislike the sport, you’ll still find the film enjoyable and entertaining.

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