"Good morning, Mr. Phelps." "The man you're looking at is Charles Buckman, who is attempting to obtain a stranglehold on all forms of professional and amateur sports." "If he succeeds, the U.S. Will be ostracized from the world community of athletics and our enemies handed a propaganda weapon of immeasurable value." "Buckman's main financing comes from boxing." "He works in association with this man, Dan Whelan, whose syndicate controls the betting on the fights Buckman rigs." "Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to eliminate Buckman and his plan once and for all." "As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions." "Please dispose of this recording in the usual manner." "Good luck, Jim." "A few years ago, before you went in the Army, you were a top-rated contender." " I want you to make a comeback." " Didn't they tell you?" "I couldn't punch my way out of a wet paper bag with these." "I know about your hands, Richy." "I know how you burned them rescuing that pilot." "Then what are you talking about?" "I'm talking about putting Richy Lemoine in the record book and boxing back in the hands of honest men." "Yeah, I can make Barney look enough like Richy to get by with it." " Has he ever done any fighting?" " He was Sixth Fleet champion." " I'm still gonna need a lot of help." " You'll get plenty." "Take advantage of your size." "Come on, pump." "Jab." "Yeah, it looks good." " Will it stay on?" " If his head does." "Thanks a lot." "Fans, there's a young man at ringside you'll all remember." "Recently out of the service and now back with us, our own Richy Lemoine." "Let's bring him in here." "I think I'll drop in at Haldeman's Gym tomorrow." "That boy could be just what I'm looking for." "Is he any good?" "If he ever fights me, he'll really know what it is to get cut up." "Mr. Whelan, this means a lot to me, but a job would mean a lot more." "It's kind of tough for a guy with my record to get one." "Whelan." "I've got a new man for you." "I'm sending him over with Vince." "Now hit to the body." "To the head." "Good one." "Combination off the jab." "Good." "Barney can't get into the ring with Stevens." "He'd get killed." "I'm sorry, Barney." "You're good, but you're no match for Stevens." "We know that, Richy." "That's why we're gonna give Barney some help." " We're gonna slow Stevens down." " You mean dope him?" "Well, it's a kind of gas, Richy, but it's harmless." "It's also odourless, tasteless and colourless." "And the faster he moves, the quicker it will take effect." "Let me show you something." "See, it's all in here." "I'm Richy Lemoine's manager." "I left my money clip in his locker." "Johnny." "Johnny." "Oh, there you are." "We're gonna be using the place for a while." "Hey, fellows, put one of those benches up there." "We'll use it for a backstop." "Try not to lose." " I'll take a half." " I'll take the other half." "Always room for a little fresh blood." " Four." " Two-to-one he don't make it." " Half." " I'll take the other half." "Fifty." "All right, don't just stand there." "Go get it." "Hey, wait a minute." "Whose dice are these?" "Mine." "Why?" " This one's been shaved." " Let me see that." "Let me see the other one." "Only one of them's been shaved." "Still gives somebody a pretty good edge." "Just a moment." "These dice were clean when I brought them in here." "Are you trying to say you don't believe me?" "I believe you, I'm just not playing with you." "I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm out." "Dan." "Let's get this started." "Well, if it isn't the big crap shooter." "I've always loved to watch Stevens give some punk a good boxing lesson." "I got a hunch Stevens is gonna try to take you fast." "Keep the left up, Richy." "Keep that left up." "Snap the left." "Snap it, Richy." "Thattaboy, Richy." "Use the right." "Use your right." "Keep moving." "Move, move." "Way up, way up." "A little more." " You all right?" " Yeah." " He almost had me." " I know." "Jab, jab." "That's it, jab." "Attaboy, attaboy." "That's it." "Jab, Richy, jab." " You okay?" " Okay." "This round should do it." "One good shot, he'll drop." "Right." "Put him away, Richy." "Put him away." "I think this Lemoine's the kid you've been looking for." "Yes." "I think we can use him." "I like your style, Richy." "I'm going to talk to your manager." " Thanks, Mr. Buckman." " This guy's nothing, Mr. Buckman." "I mean nothing." "I'll show you." "Stop it." "I said, stop it." "Save it for the ring." "Come by my office about 3 this afternoon." "Come along." "I'm gonna take you home." "Shall I pick you up tonight?" " Do you need to ask?" " Yes, I do." "Why?" "Why do you need to ask?" "Because I still haven't figured you out." "Is there some rule that says you have to have everything figured out?" "No, but it bothers me when I don't." "Things like this don't just occur, there has to be an angle." "Maybe there isn't any angle." "That's not like any woman I've ever met before." "I thought you'd never get around to telling me that." "All right, get out." "I'll see you tonight." "Properly promoted, that youngster could make us all a lot of money." ""All"?" "I don't understand." "Who's "all"?" "You want a champion, don't you?" "That costs money." "I represent a corporation that wants to buy a piece of Richy." "In exchange, we'll foot all your bills and I'll move him up the ladder." "How big a piece?" "Here, you see for yourself." "You're very generous, Mr. Buckman." "Richy and I get to split 25 percent." " Forget it." " Don't be hasty." "It's better than 100 percent of nothing." "What do you mean by that?" "I mean if I don't match your fighter, he's out of the fight game." "With me, he'll be the champion." "If he does what he's told." "Including an occasional dive, right?" "Including whatever he's told." "Do we have a deal or haven't we?" "Let me tell you something, Mr. Buckman." "That kid's never done anything dirty in his life." "If you expect me to sell him out behind his back starting now," " you're crazy." " He'll never fight again." "That may be, Buckman." "But let me tell you something." "Don't try to convince him because you couldn't get me." "Because if anything happens to that kid, Buckman," "I'm gonna come after you and I'm gonna find you." "Lemoine's the contender that I've been looking for." " I intend to have him." " You think the kid will go for it?" "If his manager tells him to." "What if his manager can't be convinced?" "I got you." " How many did you get?" " Got about 20." "It took me quite a while to find the list of addresses." "By the time we need them," "I'll have the address of every bookie Whelan works with." "He just pulled up." "All right." "See you." "Now, the answer is no." "Absolutely no." "Not gonna let Buckman turn you into a punch-drunk dummy selling pencils." "You're the boss, Linc." "Whatever you say goes, you know that." "You may wind up on a chicken ranch, but we stay clear of Buckman, got it?" "Okay, Linc." "Okay." "Now you guys better get some sack." " Hi, crap shooter." " What are you doing here?" "Mr. Buckman thinks you're making a mistake not signing that contract." " Wants me give you another chance." " Now, look, you get out of here." "I will when you sign that contract." "You see, I've got a feeling you're gonna be changing your mind." "I've got a feeling you're wrong." "When you have something to tell me, I'm listening." "All right." "All right." "I'll sign it." "I'll sign it." "Oh, yeah, Richy's on the card tomorrow night." "He's fighting Leonard." " What if he's not ready?" " All he has to do is show up, baby." " Leonard will go in the sixth." " Really got to hand it to you." "You and Buckman even have the eliminations rigged." "Come on, Leonard." "She doesn't know it's rigged?" "She wouldn't enjoy it as much if she knew." " How did we close?" " Great." "Leonard is 6-to-1." " Looks pretty good." " Yeah." "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." "You lose the fight tonight in the third round." "Linc, what's he talking about?" "Tonight you go down." "Then there'll be a rematch and you'll win." "I can beat Staczek." "You know that." " I can beat him tonight." " I'm aware of that, but you won't." "You'll go down in the third round." "Or else you wind up in a box." "Eight, nine." "One hundred thousand." "Now, Rena, have you studied your copy of this list?" "Yes, I've located all the spots." "All right." "These are all of Whelan's bookie joints." "Now this is the list of the amount to bet at each place." "Okay." "Is the comb ready?" "Yes, right here." " All right, you'd better get started." " Thanks." "What time do you meet Buckman?" "About half an hour." "Make sure you stay with him all day long." "Is he ready?" "He's ready." "We better get you made up." "Almost time for the weigh-in, champ." "Yeah, and I'm late for work." "Two-fifty, 5-to- 1, Lemoine." "The suckers are going crazy for Lemoine." " They must like the odds." " It's not just the suckers." "These bets have been coming in from district books." "Five thousand, 6,000, 7,500, 10,000." "Five, 15, all Lemoine money." "All bet by the same person." "A woman." "Black hair." "Dark glasses." "Stan, a woman wants to bet 25,000 on Lemoine." "Do we take it?" "No woman bets that kind of money for herself." "She's getting it down for somebody." "Somebody who's pretty sure Lemoine's gonna win." " She's got a bet." " Okay." "Dan?" "Want me to tag along after her and see who she's betting for?" "Go ahead." "Thank you, ma'am." "He's a good man." "Always thinking." "How did the betting go?" "Good, except for 100,000 some dame laid off on us." "On Lemoine." "Maybe laying it off on the Vegas books, huh?" "You want this on?" "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event of the evening." "Fifteen rounds of boxing for the championship of the world." "Presenting the officials at ringside:" "Timekeeper at the bells, Charles Linequist." "Physician in attendance at ringside, Dr. Stanley Wald." "Here we go, on my right." "Out of the black corner from Camden, New Jersey, wearing white trunks, Ernie Staczek." "He looks good." "And as his opponent on my left, in this corner, wearing blue trunks, making a sensational comeback, a real hero," "Richy Lemoine." "Referee now giving instructions, Lee Grossman." "Men, you both know the rules." "I want a good clean fight." "Protect yourself at all times." "You can be penalised for low blows." "Shake hands, come out fighting at the bell." "Good luck to both of you." "I'd give anything to be down there in that ring." "Come on, Lemoine." "Get him." "What's the matter with him?" "He's trying too hard to make it look good." "You're doing great, but you're getting in too close." "So keep away from him." "That's it, Richy." "Get him." "She never picks the winner." " What are you trying to do?" " Just trying to make it look good." "Break clean." " Let up, we still got a round to go." " Okay, break clean." "Stay away from him this round." "Keep jabbing." " Lemoine's going for a win." " That lousy..." " What happened?" " It's a double cross." "You'd better make sure Lemoine loses." "We better not wait until the end of the round." " Get down to the dressing room now." " Right." "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..." "Staczek needs some help." "You go down this round or you'll never leave the arena alive." " Neither one of you." " Don't worry, Mr. Buckman." "Don't worry." "Hey, Jimmy." "Here." "Clean." " Mr. Whelan." " Where the devil have you been?" "The cops picked me up, ran me through a lineup." "But I followed the dame, found out where she went." "Buckman's apartment." "Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." "Your attention, fans." "We have the time, one minute..." "Buckman has an office at the top of the arena." "Wait for us there." "Your new champion, Richy Lemoine." "Vince, get Buckman." "Bring him to the office." "All right, let's go down to the dressing room." "Thanks, Mr. Buckman." "Thanks." " Whelan wants to see you." " You don't understand." "He wants to see you now." "Both of you." "Fellows, just give us a couple of minutes, will you?" "I wonder what happened to Charlie." "I think I'll go find him." "We'll go with you." "What's this all about?" " Charlie?" " It's all right, dear." "Yeah, she's the one all right, Dan." "It's the same dame." "You're not as smart as I thought." "What the devil are you talking about?" "That 100,000 Vegas money on Lemoine." "It explains why he won." "She was betting for you." "You can't be serious." "She was with me all day." "Where are the receipts?" "Where are they?" "There's nothing." "You want me to get her out of here?" "Come on." "Dan..." "I'm being set up." "Wesley, tell him." "Dan, you've got to believe me." "Greedy." "Settle down." "Richy has something to say to you." "I want to say that I'm announcing my retirement." " No." " Why, Richy?" "Why?" "This is my last fight." "There are broken bones in both my hands and I don't need a doctor to tell me that it's all over." "But there's one other thing I'd like to tell you." "This was the greatest moment of my life."