Barnes is Alfred’s next opponent. He is not as quick as Griffin or as strong as Rivera, but he is “rough and dirty in the clinches.” Barnes stomps on Alfred’s toes, pounds his kidneys, and holds his arms. Donatelli screams for Alfred to break away from Barnes, but Alfred’s legs feel heavy and his feet feel as if they are glued to the canvas.

The crowd boos, but Alfred does not care. He halfheartedly jabs out of habit, and only then to keep Barnes at a distance. When Barnes tries to duck away from the jab and stumbles, putting his face a mere six inches from Alfred’s right glove, Henry screams at Alfred to punch Barnes; but in a flash Alfred sees Griffin’s “twitching body” and does not throw the punch.

Barnes again clinches Alfred and pounds his kidneys; over Barnes’s shoulder, Alfred can see that the round will end in thirty seconds. After the referee pulls them apart, Alfred is able to keep Barnes at a distance until the final bell rings.

The judges call the bout a draw, and the crowd boos Alfred all the way back to the dressing room. In the locker room, Donatelli, Martin, Corey, Spoon, and Henry are silent while Alfred tries to avoid their eyes. Silence reigns as Spoon drives everyone back to the gym. He drops Donatelli off first, and the trainer asks Alfred to come upstairs with him.

Donatelli turns on a “single naked bulb” and his face is “smooth and hard,” the way he looked the first night Alfred came to the gym. After putting his arm around Alfred’s shoulders, Donatelli says it is time for Alfred to retire. He does not have the “killer instinct,” something he must possess to be able to win. He must be able to take advantage of a man’s weakness to “beat him into the ground,” something most boxers have. Those who do not have it are “so good they don’t need it.” Alfred is not that good. Alfred admits he does not particularly like fighting.

The first night Alfred came to the gym, he was alone and scared, but he worked hard and conquered his fear. Although he quit once, he came back and worked even harder. Alfred remembers what Donatelli told him about being a contender and thinks he was probably not talking just about boxing. Alfred does not want to quit before he has really tried. Now that Alfred has won three bouts, Donatelli says his next opponents will be good enough to kill him.

Alfred worries that he will not be finishing what he started, but Donatelli tells him that is not true: he has learned to work hard, concentrate, and climb. Donatelli wants him to continue training and sparring in the gym, like Spoon, but Alfred insists that although he has other things he wants to do, he needs to finish this so that he, too, can know it is time for him to retire.