Uppercut

- You said you fucking belong here.

They said, you're never gonna make it.

You ain't quick enough.

Your reflexes too slow and you're training hella weak.

They said no one gonna show you respect,

but you said?

You was gonna change the game.

Showtime folks.

And now you're here.

That's why they are out there,

posted up on the front row, paying 5 G's a ticket.

They waited for more than an hour now

to see you perform,

just you, Payne.

Just you.

Now give them their damn money's worth

and show those fuckers who my real champ is.

Fuck you!

Whoo.

You scare me.

You scare me.

That's the point.

- You're not going to beat up a woman.

Man, woman,

trespassing is trespassing.

The door was open.

Busting in my place,

I'm in every right

to bust back.

That yours?

Yeah.

- Kick it over here, nice and slow.

Slow,

with your foot.

Keep your hands up.

Who sent you?

No one.

Do I look like the type to have a gun?

Everybody looks like that,

and nobody looks like that.

That's the problem.

See, you, you either some crack head

looking to steal my shit

or someone sent you here looking for trouble.

My own damn ass send me.

Wanting what?

I'm here to train.

I want to fight.

I got it all and can't get nothing done.

So sorry to hear that.

You could help me.

Help?

Find a fucking shrink.

That song.

What does it say, again?

Love done burn me wild?

No, no.

Turn me wild.

It's blues.

Okay, I get it.

It's an honor to meet you.

I'm Toni.

Get outta my gym, Toni.

Just give me one chance, okay?

I have potential.

I promise. - Look, it's been, - Give me a chance.

- It's been a long day and I'm closing.

I mean, I,

I could help you clean.

- No, I don't need nobody messing up my system.

- If there's one thing I'm really good at,

it's cleaning up other people's messes.

- Good evening from the commentator's booth.

I'm Philipp Dibbons.

We finally made it here after weeks

of non-stop chatter about Harris versus Thribbs,

and perhaps even more talk

about Toni Williams, Harris' promoter.

No one in the boxing biz has messed with her

and come out unscathed.

But this time, she somehow seems rattled.

Jerry, I'm not at all confident.

Can she handle

the pressure anymore?

Maybe she overestimated herself.

Word is that she won't

be ring side tonight,

just like she hasn't been

for any of her fighters' previous bouts.

Hashtag cowardly?

Up to you to decide.

Payne Harris shouldn't care either way,

big mouth, hundreds of thousands of followers,

already a pop star in a way.

What? What is he really bringing to the table tonight?

Especially when he is up against a beast

like Tyrone Thribbs.

We are very happy

to have heavyweight champ Michael Moore with us.

Michael, there is a whole lot

of speculation going on.

What's your take on Payne's chances tonight?

- Listen, Thribbs, strong.

I think the fight tonight is gonna be a blood,

sweat and tears fight for Payne,

but he has to push forth the effort.

If he manages to last six or seven rounds,

I think there could be something good for him at the end,

but, you know, I am very, very skeptical.

Angelo Dundee, Eddie Futch,

Emanuel Steward and Elliott Duffond,

you coaches all like to talk character,

resilience, determination.

I'm determined to stay and learn.

I highly doubt you have anything better to do.

It takes more than that.

Accuracy,

precision,

good instincts.

You gonna take it or not?

Start underneath the head rest.

Dirt likes to hide where you can't see it.

You mentioned Angelo Dundee.

He trained Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard,

and later, George Foreman.

That man knew his stuff.

I'll give him that.

So do you.

I watched your kid, Akeem, kick Pyroshenko's ass

in the Bronx last month.

I watched you make him do it.

You gave Akeem confidence.

Well,

I've seen you before.

No, I don't think so.

- Last month, it was at Maria Hernandez Park.

You had on an orange vest.

You were with a bunch of felons picking up trash.

Community service, huh?

You were talking to Akeem.

Yeah, I was running him in the park.

I thought you were a groupie.

Just a fan.

I was asking him about his trainer and his training.

That's how I found out where to find you.

- So finding trouble is your thing?

- Dundee says, being critical is good,

but encouraging is better.

I'm tired of being fucking criticized and belittled.

I could use less of the first and more of the latter.

- I got to admit, it's kind of fun watching Payne.

But hey, he is not too tough.

Thribbs hasn't had the chance to land a punch yet,

and he ain't into that circus at all.

Fair enough.

Maybe Miss Williams told Payne

that there's much more merch to sell with all this nonsense.

I guess we'll never know.

So Payne relied on his cat-like reflexes

against Thribbs.

Dodge him, wear him out,

then strike fast.

He's got some serious power in those hands.

That's for sure.

- Left jab, right cross, all legendary fights,

Holmes, Lewis, Mayweather, De La Hoya,

I studied them all.

Most of all, Ali.

Oh.

So you a Dutch girl who wants to fight like Ali?

German.

White.

Well, looks like you have some cash,

and I bet your family doesn't know you're here.

What do you know about Ali?

- I've done some new for this fight.

I have wrestled with an alligator.

That's right.

I done wrestled with an alligator.

I done tussled with a whale.

I done handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail.

That's bad.

- Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone,

hospitalized the brick.

I'm so mean, I make medicine sick.

Yeah.

That man was one sick machine.

Yeah.

And I found you on YouTube.

Oh no.

Some obscure boxing channel,

I watched all the clips I could find of fights.

Some crazy moves you did, Mr. Duffond.

So, you want to box?

Yes.

And I want you to train me.

I don't train fighters.

I make fighters.

So why did Akeem leave you?

Make me.