Madison Square Garden is amazing to Alfred; he is stunned at how huge the venue is. The ring is in the center of a circle of seats rising up to the ceiling under hundreds of spotlights, and its ropes are wrapped in red velvet. Their seats are ten rows away from the ring.

A man wearing a tuxedo enters the ring and asks everyone to rise for the national anthem. A boy from the gym known as Jelly Belly teases Alfred for wearing a suit and tie, but when Alfred self-consciously starts to loosen his tie, he tells him not to do that because they “need a little class.” Willie Streeter is Donatelli’s fighter, and he has been touted as the next champion.

The preliminary fights begin, and Alfred struggles to follow the action. He and James once found a sports magazine; they flipped past the boxing section and decided to be wrestlers.

Donatelli moves down the aisle, making a path for his fighter, “a tall, handsome Negro” named Streeter. Wearing a white robe with his name on the back, Streeter waves to the crowd as the announcer pulls down the microphone and introduces the match. The crowd boos Streeter’s opponent, Junious Becker from Houston, Texas, but cheers wildly for Streeter.

Streeter seems cool and confident, but the first few rounds of the match are slow. Alfred tries to picture himself sitting in the corner between rounds, being cared for by his trainers. Becker gets punched and falls to one knee but quickly recovers. Streeter bleeds from a deep cut near his left eye and Becker tries to keep hitting him there. At the end of the round, Donatelli signals the referee and stops the fight.

The boys finally make their way to the locker room, where Doctor Corey is taping Streeter’s eye. Streeter is furious that Donatelli stopped the fight, even if it was to protect him. Bud Martin is equally furious, telling Streeter he should be thankful someone cares more about him than he does for himself.

Alfred assumes this is just an unfortunate loss, but a young man named Bill Witherspoon (“Spoon”) explains to Alfred that Streeter boxed with fear after he got cut, and Donatelli stopped the fight so Streeter would not look like a coward in front of the crowd.

Spoon drives Henry and Alfred home. He was once a promising fighter, but when he began to “take too much punishment,” Donatelli told him to go to college full time, while he still had some money and his health.

Alfred envisions doing everything Donatelli tells him and winning a world championship. Spoon sees the look on Alfred’s face and says, “It’s a long road, Alfred.” Alfred does not really understand the remark.

Before he goes home, Alfred thanks Henry for bringing him home the other night. Alfred hurries to get to bed so he “can replay the whole day back in his mind.” Hollis, Major, and Sonny are waiting for him on the stoop.