-
Champ: I'm not a bum; just homeless.
-
Champ: I'm about 60 percent.
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: [Sees the youths beating up Champ] Hey! What the hell!
Youth: [Runs past him, laughing] I just beat the Champ!
-
Champ: [Stares at the money Erik gave him] You helped the Champ when he was down and halfway out! I won't forget this.
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: I think you should get home.
Champ: I am home.
-
Champ: [Repeated line] Battlin' Bob Satterfield! Number Three in the world!
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: [Narrating] A writer, like a boxer, must stand alone.
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: The Jermaine story I covered. It was a good fight.
Ralph Metz: Yeah, I buried it.
Erik Kernan Jr.: But why?
Ralph Metz: Something's gotta be buried.
Erik Kernan Jr.: That's what high school wrestling's for, right?
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: You were almost champion of the world
Champ: Ah, that was a long time ago.
Erik Kernan Jr.: You fought LaMotta. You fought Patterson. You heard a whole stadium of people stand up and call out your name! You remember that?
Champ: Sure, sure I remember that.
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: Can I buy you a cup of coffee?
Champ: No man, I don't drink coffee. Used to, but I gave it up.
Erik Kernan Jr.: How about a cold beer?
Champ: [pauses and smiles] Well, I indulge in a beer every now and then.
-
Champ: I went from an up-and-coming to a has-been. Nothing in between.
-
Champ: [Repeated line] I ain't gonna forget this!
-
Youth: [Clenching fists] Come on, Champ, let's go! Right now!
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: [about Champ] He's not a bum. He's homeless.
Ralph Metz: [after a pause] No, he's a bum.
-
Champ: [Was talking to a boy, and when Kernan drives up, the boy runs off] You scared him off, man. He thought you were the po-lice!
-
Champ: There's a code of honor, you know.
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: [has humiliated himself and his son] I wish I was dead!
-
[first lines]
Announcer: He lost to Harold Johnson and to Nino Valdez. That win to Valdez catapulted him into the national statistics spotlight also. Charles, 32 years old, Satterfield, 30. Here's round two. 189 for Charles, 180 for Satterfield. Charles is in the white trunks.
Erik Kernan Jr.: [narrating] A writer, like a boxer, must stand alone.
Announcer: Satterfield has surprised all tonight with his right.
Erik Kernan Jr.: Having your words published, like entering a ring, puts your talent on display. And there's nowhere to hide. The truth is revealed. And sometimes, the results can be disastrous.
Announcer: And Satterfield is down! Three, four, five, six, seven... He's not gonna get up. Eight, nine... And it's all over. Wow! Ezzard Charles.
-
Ralph Metz: The truth is, I forget your pieces while I'm reading them. Now, if this is the best you can do, I'm not gonna complain. But I know you can do a lot better.
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: You know what would be good for the story? If I could look at some of the stuff in your cart, see what you lug around every day. I think it'd be really interesting for the article.
Champ: All right, we can do that... as soon as you take me to your house and let me go through all your personal stuff.
-
Erik Kernan Jr.: I burned you, buddy. I'm sorry.
Teddy Kernan: It's okay.
Erik Kernan Jr.: Not about all this, but in general, are you pretty proud of me?
Teddy Kernan: Real proud.
Erik Kernan Jr.: And would you be proud of me, even if I didn't have, like, a lot of celebrity friends and stuff? Like, if I wasn't a big shot?
Teddy Kernan: Well, not as much, but pretty close.
-
[last lines]
Erik Kernan Jr.: The lies that come from love can devastate as much as those that come from malice. Champ's legacy, I suppose, is the inspiration for truth. And the beauty that can emerge from it.
Teddy Kernan: [talking to his baby brother] I'll tell you how to make real strong muscles. You get your thumb, you roll up your sleeves, and you blow.
Erik Kernan Jr.: A beauty that lets our children admire us unconditionally. Love us unconditionally, as I love my son... mucho grande.
Resurrecting the Champ Quotes
Extended Reading
