Billy "The Great" Hope is an undefeated professional boxer living in the suburbs of New York City with his wife Maureen and their daughter Leila. Billy's particular style of fighting often leaves him beaten and bruised. During a match in which he defends his light heavyweight world title, Billy sustains an eye injury as well as heavy blows to the face and body, leaving him coughing up blood for days. He is finally convinced by Maureen to retire before he becomes forever "punch-drunk". During the press conference at the post-match, an up-and-coming boxer Miguel "Magic" Escobar taunts Billy and tries to get Billy to fight him. At a charity event for the orphanage where he and his wife both grew up, Escobar is in attendance, and as Billy is leaving, Escobar threatens he'll take Maureen and his title away from him, and while Maureen tells Billy to let it go and go home with her, Billy's anger gets the best of him, leading to a brawl in which Maureen is accidentally shot and killed by Miguel's brother Hector, who flees..
