A few months pass, and Leo is laid out on the mat of a dirty ring in prison. Blood drips down his face from the side of his head, then he slowly gets back to his feet. Another inmate, acting as the referee checks on Leo to see if he can still fight. The bell then rings and the two fighters walk to their corners.
Leo's opponent, a bald man with tattoos all over laughs at the fact that he knocked down Leo.
Leo's old corner man wipes the blood from his forehead and puts a towel infront of his nose. Leo slaps the towel away, as it burns his nose.
"What the hell is that?" Leo asks.
"You don't wanna know, young blood. But that shit will wake you right up."
Leo takes a few deep breaths.
"What he hit me with?"
The old man starts chuckling.
"His head."
Leo looks across the ring and see a bunch of inmates with shaved heads laughing at him.
"This is a penitentiary, son. That ref ain't gonna do shit but count somebody out, which means you gotta knock that bald sum bitch on his ass. You got one round. Knock him on his ass."
Leo gets up to his feet and puts his hands up, ready to fight again.
"Knock him on his ass." He says to himself.
The bell rings and his opponent charges at him. He throws a punch that Leo barely sidesteps. He then hits him with a right hook and a kick to the leg. Leo follows up with a left uppercut that knocks out his opponent in seconds. As the old man celebrates, Leo removes the tape from his hands and walks away, not celebrating or even happy about his victory.
Later on, Leo goes into the bathroom and see the inmate that he knocked out early, along with three other guys.
"Nice job, today. We're really impressed."
Leo is then hit from behind and has his head slammed into the wall. While he is on the ground, the inmate stomps on his leg, breaking it. All five of them then starts beating him with in an inch of his life. After what felt like hours, they finally stop and walk away, leaving him bloody and broken.
As Leo drifts in and out of consciousness, he thinks about where he was a few months ago, living out his dream and wonders how things got messed up so fast.
A few days later, Leo wakes up in his cell, bandages around his head, a black eye, bruised jaw, and cast around his broken leg. He slowly look over and sees the old man from before. The young man tries to get up, but the pain keeps him in bed. The old man walks over to him.
"Take it easy, kid. Just relax."
Leo takes the man's advice and lays still on the bed.
"You're lucky those skin heads left you breathing."
Leo let's out a sigh.
"I'm not that lucky. I'm still in prison." He replies.
The old man let's out a chuckle.
"Yeah, that's true."
The man then notices a look of hopelessness on Leo's face.
"So what? You're just gonna cry like a little bitch about it?"
Leo turns to the man, surprised by his harsh words.
"Look young blood, I know you had big dreams. I know you had them taken away from you, and I know it sucks. But there's no changing that now. Nobody can help you in here. You have to help yourself, or this place will beat you. Ya hear me?"
Leo thinks about the man's words for a moment, taking it all to heart. He then slowly sits up, trembling from the pain.
"I hear you." Leo replies.
The old man smiles and the two share a fist bump.
The next few months, Leo works through his injuries to train and build muscle. He works hard, pushing his body to its limits. Soon his cast is taken off and he is able work even harder. Now, Leo looks like a borderline heavyweight fighter, with a muscular physique, a thick beard, and long hair.
As Leo shadow kickboxes, the old man walks into his cell.
"Those bald punks been talkin about kickin yo ass in the ring. Two on one fight. Bare knuckles, no rest, no rounds. fighting until you get knocked out, or they do."
Leo stops, turns to the man, and smiles.
"I like those conditions."
The old man smirks.
"Then let's go get it on, young blood."