Impatient for the day when he can enter the prestigious Golden Gloves amateur tournament, fifteen-year-old Jerry Burke consults local boxing referee Joe Riley, who informs the boy that he must wait another year. Joe's daughter Patti then tells him she has slowly grown to love her boyfriend, Bob Gilmore, and will most likely marry him. Despite Patti's assurances, Joe privately tells the easy-going Bob that he is not right for her because he is not tough enough. At the boxing gym, Joe meets a cocky young amateur boxer named Nick Martel, and when Nick gets hit in the mouth while sparring, Joe sends him to the dentist for whom Patti works as a receptionist. Nick's flirting quickly wins her over, and they make a date. Later, Joe is visiting with his neighbor, Iris Anthony, when Bob calls, and Joe tells him that Patti is at the movies with another man. Nick and Patti's date ends, however, when he makes a pass. Bob then calls Patti at home and tells her that he has entered the Golden Gloves tournament. After passing the qualifying physical, Bob goes to sign up and encounters Nick, who attended high school with him and used to bully him mercilessly. Bob tells the interviewer that he spent three years on his college boxing team, and he and Nick are both assigned to the open class. Later, Nick takes Patti out for dinner and dancing at a fancy hotel, and by introducing Patty as his fiancée, Nick convinces the manager to let them into the bridal suite, where they kiss. When Patti invites Nick home for dinner, however, his domineering manner alienates Joe, and after Nick openly insults Joe and Patti's lifestyle, Joe orders him to leave. Just then, Bob arrives, and Nick punches him and walks out. Although Bob explains to Joe and Patti that Nick had a rough childhood, Joe says that Nick is no longer welcome in his home. He then calls his friend, Arch Ward, sports editor of the Chicago Tribune , and asks him to check Nick's background to see if he has ever boxed professionally. Arch later informs Joe that his description of Nick matches that of Anthony Martel, who is wanted for the murder of a waitress in Tennessee. Arch then calls police captain Mahoney, who takes Nick into custody. Nick is cleared of the charge and is released in time to win his first match of the tournament. Bob also has a winning streak, and after one of his matches, Patti tells him that she is not sure whether she loves him or Nick. Both Bob and Nick make it to the finals, and Iris, who has long been attracted to Bob, comes to cheer him on. Joe is assigned to referee the match, and he stops the fight in the first round when Nick receives a cut above his eye, giving Bob the victory in a technical knockout. Nick protests the decision, claiming that Joe "has it in for him," but gives Patti a train ticket and asks her to meet him at the station in half an hour. Patti packs her suitcase and tells Joe that she knew five minutes after meeting Nick that she was in love with him. The next morning, Bob stops by to have breakfast with Patti, and when Joe breaks the news about Patti, Bob moves to Salt Lake City. Deeply troubled, Joe goes to church and speaks with Father McGuire, noting that he tried to raise Patti correctly on his own. Later, Joe sadly listens to a recording made on Patti's thirteenth birthday when Patti runs in and announces he was right about Nick. A year passes, and Jerry, now sixteen, eagerly speaks to Joe about entering the Golden Gloves tournament, for which Bob has returned. Nick also returns for the tournament, following a year of successful amateur matches across the country, and he and Bob again make it to the finals. The night of the big fight, Nick forces his way into the Rileys' apartment and insists on kissing Patti for luck. Joe angrily chases him away and vows to do whatever it takes to see that he loses the match. After Joe is announced as the referee, however, he realizes that he cannot referee the fight without compromising the integrity of the Golden Gloves, and steps down. Following two fierce rounds, Bob knocks Nick out, and later shows up at Joe and Patti's home with a bottle of champagne. Nick then appears and humbly apologizes to all three of them, adding that Joe has taught him a lot. As Nick and Patti, obviously still in love, begin to quarrel, Joe and Bob step into the hallway, where they are joined by Iris. While Nick and Patti kiss, Iris and Bob enthusiastically embrace.
