The Prize Fighter

The Prize Fighter is an American comedy film starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts. Directed by Michael Preece, it was written by Tim Conway and John Myhers, based on a story by Conway. It was released by New World Pictures in November 1979.

Set in the 1930s, Tim Conway is Bags, an underdog boxer and Don Knotts as his dim-witted sidekick/manager Shake are out to save a gym and become stooges for a gangster (Robin Clarke) who decides to take advantage of the two losers: he sets Bags up for a big championship match against a bruiser nicknamed "The Butcher" (Michael LaGuardia). At stake is more than the one-sided match, the duo's friend Pop Morgan (David Wayne) has bet all he has on Bags; he needs money to save his gym from the clutches of the gangster.

The two comedic actors Conway and Knotts achieved success onscreen when they were paired in several family-friendly feature films for Disney: The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), Gus (1976), and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979). As boxing and wrestling movies were popular in the 1970s and '80s, choosing the subject for a slapstick comedy seemed like a good idea. Knotts and Conway would team up yet again in 1981 for The Private Eyes.

The film was a box office hit, earning $6.5 million during its initial release, and was one of the most financially successful films ever released by New World Pictures.