This film is only loosely related to film noirs in a narrative sense. Robert Ryan plays a down-on-his-luck boxer who insists he can win his latest fight. Unbeknowest to him, his manager, Tiny, has agreed that he will take a fall in the third round. Tiny doesn't tell Ryan's character because he wants to pocket the money himself. You can see what happens--due to forces outside of his control, Ryan meets a tragic end. Unlike in many other film noirs, the hero is not taken in by his own stupidity or the seductive wiles of a femme fatale.
But visually speaking, the film is very much a film noir, and comes the closest to German expressionism. Wise frames Ryan so that he is swallowed up by his dark surroundings. Wise also uses the camera to indict the brutal sport of boxing and its spectators.
Aside from the beautiful mise-en-scene, I loved watching the film. Robert Ryan makes a sympathetic portrait of a loser boxer, and Wise ratchets up the tension during the boxing match--I was simultaneously repelled by the sport but also rooting for Ryan.