拳赛之日展示了处在生涯巅峰的爱尔兰裔中量级拳手Walter Cartier与中量级鲍比詹姆斯对决的那一天（1950年4月17日）。这部电影以关于拳击历史的短暂旁白开场，然后拍摄Cartier（与他的兄弟Vincent）的一天，这时他正在为晚上10点的比赛做准备。他先在格林威治区西12街的公寓里吃了早餐，然后前去参加了早弥撒，并在他最喜爱的餐馆享用午餐。在下午4点，他开始准备比赛。晚上8点，他在新泽西州纽瓦克的劳雷尔花园的更衣室等待战斗开始。最后，我们看到拳赛的过程，Cartier在短时间内胜出。
12分钟版与16分钟版的区别是，后者有一段关于拳击历史的开场旁白（4分钟），由资深新闻播音员Douglas Edwards用一种严肃的，带着些许黑色幽默的语调念出。
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.