Against the Ropes is a 2004 sport drama movie.It stars Meg Ryan and Omar Epps and was directed by Charles S. Dutton, in his motion-picture directorial debut. The story is a fictionalized account of the American boxing manager Jackie Kallen, who was the first woman to become a success in the sport. Kallen has a bit part in the film, playing a reporter, and a few lines in the scene where the press interviews the principal characters. The film was shot primarily at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, United States and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada at the Copps Coliseum.