拳賽之日展示了處在生涯巔峰的愛爾蘭裔中量級拳手Walter Cartier 與中量級鮑比詹姆斯對決的那一天（1950年4月17日）。這部電影以關于拳擊歷史的短暫旁白開場，然后拍攝Cartier（與他的兄弟Vincent ）的一天，這時他正在為晚上10點的比賽做預備。他先在格林威治區西12街的公寓里吃了早餐，然后前往參加了早彌撒，并在他最喜愛的餐館享用午飯。在下晝4點，他開始預備比賽。晚上8點，他在新澤西州紐瓦克的勞雷爾花園的更衣室等待戰斗開始。最后，我們看到拳賽的過程，Cartier在短時間內勝出。12分鐘版與16分鐘版的區分是，后者有一段關于拳擊歷史的開場旁白（4分鐘），由資深新聞播音員Douglas Edwards 用一種嚴厲的，帶著些許黑色幽默的語調念出。Day Of The Fight" tells of a day in the life of a middleweight Irish boxer named Walter Cartier, particularly the day of his bout with black middleweight Bobby James. This 16-minute short opens with a short (about 4 minutes) study of boxing's history, narrated by veteran newscaster Douglas Edwards in a no-nonsense, noir tone of voice. After this, we follow Walter (and his twin brother Vincent) through his day as he prepares for his 10:00 P.M. bout. After eating breakfast, going to early mass and eating lunch, he starts arranging his things for the fight at 4:00 P.M. By 8:00, he is waiting in his dressing room, where he undergoes a mental transformation, turning into the fighting machine the crowd clamors for. At 10:00, he faces James, and soon, he comes out victorious in a short match which was filmed live on April 17th, 1950.