“‘It wanting that do it. You got to want to win so bad you can taste it. If you want to win bad enough you win. They no way in hell this dude going to beat me. He too old. I going be all over him. I going to kick his ass so bad, every time he take a bite of food tomorrow he going think of me. He be one sore son-of-a-bitch. He going know he been in a fight. I get him before he get me. I going hit him with everything. I won’t just beat that motherfucker, I going kill him…. You want to know what make a good fighter?’

‘What’s that?’

‘It believing in yourself. That the will to win. The rest condition. You want to kick ass, you kick ass.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

‘You don’t want to kick ass, you get your own ass whipped.’

‘I want to kick ass. Don’t worry about that.’

‘You just shit out of luck.’

‘I said I wanted to kick ass.’

‘You got to want to kick ass bad. They no manager or trainer or pill can do it for you.’

‘I want to kick ass as bad as you do.’

‘Then you go out and kick ass.’”
—Leonard Gardner, Fat City