“The champion on the comeback trail knows this much: he was a champion. His return to glory culminates in the familiar; it confirms expectations and estimations alike. But what of the fighter who fell short of a title, he who knows painfully well how it feels to be proven wanting? The comeback trail for him isn’t about winning a title so much as earning another chance at the beckoning glory he is yet―despite what his galvanized ego assures him―to prove worthy of. He must determine whether the dream is still a reality or whether it must be altered, even abandoned altogether.”

Read Dreams and Nightmares: Sebastian Fundora Batters Erickson Lubin on Hannibal Boxing.

“When he got his chance to put hands on Gonzalez, he set about it with a malevolence befitting the opportunity. That comportment did little to alter his fortunes, alas, but not for lack of trying. Martinez waved Gonzalez in, shook his head defiantly, banged his gloves, urging Gonzalez to weave more leather into him. But these were futile histrionics, the viceroy’s camouflage. Martinez was pulped just the same. He survived his twelve rounds with Gonzalez, though, an accomplishment itself; and one he likely owes in part to those impertinent added pounds. Such is the chasm between good and great.”

Read Royalty: Roman Gonzalez Beats Back Julio Cesar Martinez on Hannibal Boxing.

“Where does that fire come from, the self-sustaining heat? Are fighters born or are they made? There seems to be a sort of constitutional iron amongst a few that cannot be taught. We call these men natural fighters, born fighters. And we love them for it. Others are not so predisposed to answer the harrowing call, though they are, without exception, more willing to answer it than us. These men are fighters in spite of themselves. And we love them for it.”

Read Hardwired: Nate Campbell Then and Now on Hannibal Boxing.