good evening, ladies and gentlemen. it's a thrill to be standing here talking to you wonderful people. in fact, it's a thrill to be standing! i haven't seen so many people since my last fight at madison square garden. after that fight, a reporter asked me, 'jake, where do you go from here?' i said, 'to a hospital!' i fought one hundred and six professional fights and still none of them bums figured out how to fight me -- they kept hitting me in the head! and that's why i'm here tonight. 'when the fighter's not engaged in his employment, his employment, although he was champ and quite the rage, he must go somewhere else to seek employment, seek employment. but a fighter's life is not a bowl of cherries, still i'd rather have an egg than a fist upon my face. that's entertainment!' this looks done. it looks done. i'll take it the way it is. no, i can't wait. you know when i wait? when it's important to wait. it's not important to wait for no steak. it's important to wait for reeves to leave the ring. it ain't important to wait for no steak! i won that fight. so, i stayed in the ring, and that way i made sure everybody knew it. i shoulda knocked him out earlier, sonofabitch. wait! i'll wait. but let me tell you, if this steak was the middleweight championship, i'd show you how i'd wait. i'd eat it raw. i'd drink the blood. i'd eat it before it came out of the cow -- that's how i'd wait. nothing. i ain't ever gonna fight joe louis, that's what's the matter. look at these hands. these fuckin' hands. i was born with a girl's hands. and even if i put on enough weight to be a heavyweight, i'd be too slow to fight. no matter how big i get, i'll never be big enough to fight louis. i tell you one thing. ok, i'll never be big enough to fight louis, but i know joey, i know. yeah. do me a favor. hit me in the face. you heard me, i said hit me. go ahead. i ain't drunk. take your best shot. on the jaw. here's your glove. go ahead. hit me. c'mon, don't worry about it. i want you to hit me with everything you got. again. harder. harder. go 'head. harder. take the towel off. go ahead. see that, i don't feel it. i can take it. i know i can take anybody. did you know they were coming up here? answer me when i talk to you. don't ever bring those kids up here again! i'm working out, i'm killin' myself in here, and they walk around like they fuckin' own the neighborhood. go 'head. wave goodbye. they're your friends. and that hard-on, salvy. who's he think he is? i'm gonna let that fuckin' hard-on come up here and act like a big shot. hey, i don't care about tommy como. i don't care about jesus christ on the fuckin' cross. i gotta give them a percentage of what i make! i'm in here breaking my ass, not them. don't ever bring them up here again. that's right, fight back. i got laid three times before i came up here this morning and i can still break your ass. who's that? whadda ya mean, whadda i care? who is she? what's a matter? you afraid i'm gonna take her on you? yeah -- go 'head. how do you know? you know her that good? nah, not now. i wanna wait. i don't feel right. 'cause i wanna catch her alone. she ever go with them? like salvy? what does that have to do with it? she don't look 15 to me. i heard somethin' with salvy. she was with him once or somethin', i think. it was like some blonde. that's the one. yeah, she's nice. you wasn't with her, were you? you wasn't with her? you know, like bang her or anything? nah, not now -- all those hard-ons around. i'll wait. not now. i don't like all those other clowns around. that's all i know. what're you, a cop? i'm goin' out -- business. and where you goin'? eh, go out. do what you're gonna do. what do i care? hey, watch your mouth. don't talk like that. she's still my wife. how many times do i have to hit her? i hit her enough. eh, girlie, take a walk. do you see her yet? be right back. joey said you wanted to meet me. is that right? you wanted to meet me? you wanted to say hello, eh? i can't believe it. when did you fall outa heaven? anyone ever tell you you're the most beautiful one here, princess of the pool. you got a baby face. look at mine. whatcha wanna meet me for? ya hear, joey? she thinks this face is cute? hey, whatcha doin' now? you wanna go for a ride? hey. i ain't ever talked to a movie star before. oh no? i thought you was a movie star. any bus gives you trouble, i knock it out for ya. you don't get nothin' done by watchin'. you just gotta do it. here, i'll help you. that's it. just grip up a little tighter. that's it. you're gonna be real good at this. how does that feel? just keep your eye on the ball. just give it a nice little tap. can you see it? no. it means the game is over. let's get outa here. hi pop. this is my new girlfriend, vickie. v for victory. how do you like that pop? c'mon, pop. you've been in america so many years. speak english. pop, don't curse. there's a girl here. i'm gonna show her around the house. why don't you just finish your wine? that's all right. he don't mind. it's ok. i'm tallin' you now, when i read this, it better not make me look bad. maybe it wasn't you, but you know what i'm talkin' about. why not? there's nobody else around who wants to fight me; they're all afraid. i don't see why i shouldn't have a shot at the title right now. you guys know more about that than i do. i just fight. i'm the only guy ever to beat sugar ray, and i still don't have a shot at the title. i tell you what. you hit me here. sugar ray hits me here. i can't tell the difference. i just fight. come over here. if you let me do it, i'll murder you. come here. come here. take off my pants. do what i say. now take the rest off. go 'head. do it. now take your panties off. now, touch me. . here. i can't do it. i can't fool around. this robinson, i gotta beat him again. i can't fool around. don't come near me. whadda i gotta do, joey? i knocked him down. what did i do wrong? i don't understand. i dunno. maybe i don't deserve to win. i've done a lot of bad things. i dunno. i don't wanna see nobody. no, take her home. i wanna be alone for a while. everybody go. i just weighed myself - i'm 161. no more deals like this janiro bullshit. i didn't tell you to do it in the first place. well, sometimes you shouldn't listen to me! now i don't know if i can make it down to 155. i'm having trouble making 160, and without telling me, you sign me for a fight at 155 pounds, and if i don't make 155, i forfeit $15,000! you're supposed to know what you're doin'. you're supposed to be a manager! say what you're gonna say. say what you gotta say. don't be a smart ass. what do you mean, "good looking?" who asked you? who asked you? who asked you? all right, manager. everybody had their say around here. now this is what i'm gonna say. i'm gonna get down to 155, and i'm gonna destroy this kid -- get my title shot. and don't ever bet 15 thousand without my sayso again. look at this abuse i gotta take. what's so funny? cheers! post-time. joey, vickie, and. what's your name again, darling? what're you lookin' at? you lookin' at him? don't tell me "no." i saw you lookin' at him. why, you like him? you're not interested in him? in other words, you're not interested in him but you'd be interested in somebody else, right? look at this, all of a sudden everybody's a fuckin' romeo around here. did you see the way she was lookin' at him? didn't you just see her lookin' at him? she told me no, but i don't believe her. i'd just love to catch her. oooooh, i'd just love to catch her once. don't be long. i'm afraid with all these tough guys here. hi, tommy. how are you? c'mon, tommy -- never felt better. he should. yeah, the weight's ok. i'd tell you to bet a bundle. vickie?. vickie, you asleep? you asleep? huh? tell me, you think of anybody else when i'm making love to you? then why'd you say that thing about tony janiro? that he's got a pretty face. you sure you're not thinking of him right now? you're the one who said he was good looking. you think he's good looking 'cause i know you think he's good-looking. i'll smash his face inside out. i'll make him into dog meat. nobody's gonna think he's good-looking when i get through with him. so you just go ahead and think about who you want. just a minute. this is my night! listen to them! i'm gonna be champ! i'm making everything up to you. i remember the first time i met vickie. i know there's somethin' up. i know she's doin' somethin', but i can't catch her. what do you mean? when i'm away, did you ever notice anythin' funny with her? tell me the truth. i want you to keep an eye on her when i'm not here. understand? what did tommy say? yeah, i know. what's up, colonel? what who's been sayin'? i don't follow no gamblin' commissioner. i'm just a fighter. believe what you want. i'm gonna kill him. that fuckin' jig's gonna wish he never came outa the jungle. you got any money? you got any money you want to bet on billy fox, you can put it right here. 'cause jake lamotta don't go down for nobody. stand up! what the fuck are you doin'? hit me! hit me! what's the matter with you, you motherfucker? hit me! why did they have to stop it? why did they have to stop it? get everyone out of here! c'mon, joey. what the fuck they want? i took the dive. they want me to fall down too? i don't fall down for nobody. i never went down in my life. joey, what do i gotta do? crawl on my hands and knees? i made an asshole of myself in the fuckin' garden! all the newspaper writers make fun of me. i'm the bum of the year. all i want is a shot. just a fuckin' shot. what do i gotta do? i'll do anything. yeah, except fall down. that's right. jesus christ! seven months! what am i gonna do for seven months? i'm gonna go crazy. how do i keep my strength? by that time i'll be too weak to win the title. and my weight? forget about it -- i'm gonna blow up like a balloon. i ain't never gonna hold my weight down. seven months! i don't know. i can't eat a steak. if i eat a steak, i'm gonna have trouble making the weigh-in. tommy, thanks for coming over. i'm ok. no, we're all right. thanks anyway, tommy. c'mere. hey, you don't say goodbye to him like that. you don't kiss like that. hello and goodbye, that's all you do. you know what i'm talking about. don't ever make me look bad on the night of my big fight. shut up. you just say hello and goodbye to him. you don't kiss him the way you did. that's out of line. don't ever do that again. you don't do it! you hear what i said? you don't do it. you don't do it. she ain't gonna ruin this fight for me. good evening, ladies and gentlemen. it's a thrill to be standin' here talking to you wonderful people. in fact, it's a thrill to be standin'. i haven't seen so many people since my last fight at madison square garden. after that fight a reporter asked me, "jake, where do you go from here?" i said, "to a hospital." i fought one hundred and six professional fights and none of them bums figured out how to fight me -- they kept hitting me in the head! will somebody at the bar -- linda? - get me a drink. i figure if i'm gonna work to drunks i might as well be one of 'em! i like this place. it's a family type club. every night i see a lot of fathers sitting out there with their young daughters! that's nice. thanks, honey. -- she's terrific. the kinda girl you wanta take home to meet your father. especially if your old man's a degenerate! -- here's a toast! "to your health! you only live once. but if you play it right, once is enough." i shouldn't be drinkin' like this 'cause i'm tryin' to lose weight. i'm on this terrific diet -- i'm allowed to eat anything i want. as long as i don't swallow it! well, i never had much luck with my weight. in fact, -- i never had much luck with anything -- until about a few years ago, when this happened -- thanks, i'm glad to see you remember. for those of you that don't. that's me takin' the title from cerdan. you know, the tough thing about winnin' the title. the next thing you gotta do is have a rematch. just to show it wasn't no fluke. so what happens? marcel cerdan, a really great champ, after i beat him. he gets himself killed in that airplane crash. a pretty rotten break for him. that's why i don't like to fly. people say to me, "look, jake, when your time is up, your time is up." and i say, "yeah, but suppose i'm on the plane and the pilot's time is up?" as good as cerdan was, i could've taken him again. but i never got the chance to prove it wasn't no fluke. he got killed but he got to be what they call a legend. i don't know what's worse -- bein' a fluke or bein' a legend. -- that's the kinda luck i got. that's why i quit the ring and moved down here from new york. my wife said, "you gotta get outa this town, jake." come to think of it. the boxing commission said the same thing! but i don't miss new york. give me miami any day. miami's a great place. i get along with everybody in this town. even the police force. they got the best cops here money can buy! -- only kiddin'. by the way. me and my wife vickie's gettin' ready to celibrate our eleventh wedding anniversary. we get along real great. we fight a little but i never really belted her on purpose. once in a while i'm standin' there doin' little shadow-boxin' and she happens to walk right into the shadow. i can't help that. she says, "whataya hittin' me for?" i says, "it's nothin'. it's only a love tap." she says, "it's a good thing you're not crazy about me!" -- i am crazy about her. i heard her talkin' to a friend on the phone and she was sayin', "after eleven years, i'm still in love with the same guy." -- if i ever find out who the bum is, i'll kill him! women. you can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em. "'oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy. it is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on. that cuckold lives in bliss who, certain of his fate, loves not his woronger; but o, what damned minutes tells he o'er who dotes, yet doubts -- suspects, yet fondly loves!" -- that's from somethin' called "othello" -- is whispering nothing? is leaning cheek to cheek? is meeting noses? kissing with inside lip? stopping the career of laughter with a sign? -- a note infallible of breaking honesty -- horsing foot on foot? skulking in corners? wishing clocks more swift? hours, minutes? noon, midnight? and all eyes blind with the pin and web but theirs, theirs only, that would unseen be wicked? is this nothing? why, then the world and all that's in't is nothing; the covering sky is nothing; bohemia nothing; my wife is nothing; nor nothing have these nothings, if this be nothing." -- that's from something called "the winter's tale" -- shakespeare! you all remember shakespeare. he wrote all them famous plays one after the other, then he went into a big slump and he ain't done anything good in years. that speech is about jealousy -- jealousy's a bad thing. jealousy bothers a lot of guys. take me. i almost killed my brother. i love him. he's my family. i mean, there's nothin' he wouldn't do for me. and that's the way we been goin' thru life -- doin' nothin' for each other! anytime he got in trouble when we was kids, i got him out of it. you know, he used to steal little things when we was growin' up. but he was particular. only stole things that begin with an 'a' -- a watch, a car, a suit, a ring. but i was wrong. i shoulda never hit my brother. afterwards, i was sorry. now every time i need somethin' i gotta go shoppin' for it! a psychiatrist once told me, "when you hit your brother you're really hittin' your mother, but you can't admit it to yourself." he's really crazy. i woulda never hit my mother. i mean, only in self-defense! tryin' to get this fuckin' tv to work. paid all this money for it and still can't get a station a mile away. and mr. wizard here ain't no help. where you been? what's that kissing on the mouth shit? ain't a cheek ever good enough for you? i never even kissed mama on the mouth. well, that's what i mean. how's that? answer me somethin'. what happened at the copa with salvy when i was out of town? you know, when you gave him a beatin'. why didn't you tell me about it? didn't it have nothin' to do with me? who did it have anything to do with. vickie? well, i heard some things. did salvy fuck vickie? you're supposed to keep an eye on her for me. i'm askin'. then why did you give him a beatin' if he didn't do anything? you and him been friends a long time. don't bullshit me, joey. you ain't tellin' me the truth. when it comes to her, i don't trust nobody. i'm askin' you somethin'. you givin' me that look. i gotta accept your word, but if i find out anythin', i'm gonna kill somebody. what do you mean, "you"? what do you mean, "you"? but you said "you." eh, joey, even you don't know what you meant. you mentioned salvy, tommy como, you -- that means somethin'. why'd you say them? you coulda said anybody. did you ever fuck my wife? i don't mean now. i mean before -- before we met. did you ever fuck my wife? you're very smart, joey, very smart. nobody gives me a straight answer around here. you're givin' me these answers, but you still didn't answer my question. did you fuck vickie? where you been all day? i called. you weren't there. what'd you see? what'd you see? what was it about? did you ever go to the copa when i was away? answer me when i talk to you. what happened that night? what do i have to do to get a straight answer around here. do i have to kill you, eh? do i have to kill somebody to get an answer? i know about you at the copa. i know all about it. with salvy, eh? come out of there! did you fuck salvy? answer me. open this fuckin' door, you fuckin' cunt! who've you been fuckin'? you're a fuckin' liar. who've you been fuckin'? salvy? tommy como? i can't trust nobody. did you fuck joey? who you been fuckin'? you did? was vickie part of the deal with tommy? was my wife part of the deal? tell me, was that it? you didn't tell me. you didn't tell me. you let me marry her. you let me marry her. get the fuck outa here. whadda you mean nothing'? you stupid bitch! you're the fuckin' animal! you ran around with every guy i knew while i was breakin' my ass for you. aw, vickie, aw vickie, please no. vickie, no. don't leave me. christ, i'm pleading. i know, i know all the bad things, but i need you. i'm a bum without you and the kids. i'll change. aw, vickie, maybe i don't do it the right way, but i love you. i love you. yeah -- what time is it? at night? how many pounds i gotta lose? just give me a chip of ice to put in my mouth. just a chip of ice. are you outa your mind? if i come out, i'll lose the title. i don't know what it is. i dunno, it's the kind of thing that -- the words won't come out. what? ok. talk. what do i say to him? call him up on the phone and say, "joey, i'm sorry about that little trouble we had. how about havin' dinner?" is that what i say? then what? i miss joey. i wish joey was here. i dunno. ok, all right. telephone's in the hall. dial his number. i shoulda never hit my brother. afterwards i was sorry. now every time i need somethin' i gotta go shoppin' for it! a psychiatrist once told me, "when you hit your brother you're really hittin' your mother but you can't admit it to yourself." he's really crazy. i woulda never hit my mother. i mean, only in self-defense! a lot of people wanta know who was the best guy i ever fought. let's see. there was that one i fought twice. the other frenchman. you know who i mean. . dauthuille! he was tough, but i beat him. i had to! i mean, how would it sound losin' to a guy whose name you can't even pronounce? but. robinson. i can say that alright. i fought sugar ray so many times it's a wonder i don't have diabetes! linda. get me another drink! linda's the most popular waitress here. you can tell by her tips! she's the kinda girl i go for. you oughta see the ones i get. thanks, babe. she's a nice kid. she'll only do it with a guy if she really likes him. she's got a lot in common with will rogers -- never met a man she didn't like! . i was talkin' about sugar ray. some of you think i was better than him. but you know, it's a toss up. except the last fight. february 14, 1951. valentine's day. the anniversary of the st. valentine's massacre. robinson didn't use a machine gun but it was still a massacre. actually, i was doin' okay at first. in fact, by the end of the fifth round i really had him worried -- he thought he killed me. he ain't hurting me, but i can't get him down. you never knocked me down. you could never knock me down. i'm pulling out of next wednesday's tv bout 'cause i can't make the weight. i'm fighting at light heavyweight, and i still can't make the weight. it means i'm through with boxing. i'm tired with tryin' to make the weight anymore. i'm sick of thinkin' about weight, weight, weight. why should i be bitter? boxing's been good to me. i got a nice house, three kids, a beautiful wife -- take a picture of her. vickie. ain't she beautiful? coulda been mrs. america if i didn't pull her outa the contest. didn't want her wearing a swimsuit for nobody but me. i also bought a club on collins avenue, and i'm gonna open it real soon. know what i'm gonna call it? "jake lamotta's." valentine's day. the anniversary of the st. valentine's day massacre. robinsin didn't use a machine gun but it was still a massacre. actually, i was doin' okay at first. in fact, by the end of the fifth round i really had him worried --- he thought he killed me. you know, i could keep tellin' you this brilliant material all night -- but you'd only laugh. now i'm gonna sing. -- any requests? i mean, besides "don't"! -- in the key of h. you're laughin'. give me the right key and i'll play in anybody's flat! i sing for a reason. when i finish, you'll be so sobered up, we'll sell a lot of booze. "when the fighter's not engaged in his employment, his employment, although he was champ and quite the rage, he must go somewhere else to seek employment, seek employment. so what does he do? he goes upon the stage and meets his true adversaries, all you members of the human race. but a fighter's life is not a bowl of cherries, still i'd rather have an egg than a fist upon my face. that's entertainment! j.r., glad you could make it. sorry, empty! heh, heh! oh, i didn't mean that. if i don't give your husband no money, he won't have enough to buy you a drink. to show you i'm a nice guy, this one's on me. the last one was your payment for this month. you're a good sport, lady. yeah, i really cleaned up on him. do you think i'd let her in a place like this with guys like you hangin' around? hey, ricky, glad you came. hey, honey, give these fellas a round on me. i can tell they're gonna be regular customers. whew! any girl that can kiss like that can drink in my club any time! i'm sorry. i had to work late last night. slept at the club. sure, what else is new? open the door, vickie. aw, c'mon. don't say that. aw, c'mon, vick -- huh? whadda ya mean, get up? i know where you're from. you guys look the same every place. about what? for what? hey, i'm a big tax payer down here. don't that entitle me to some information what this is all about? i dunno. i introduced a lot of people to men. so what? what does that mean? vickie, open up. i need to come in. no. open the door. please, vick. i won't bother you. i'm out on bail. you can send the kids next door. i just gotta pick one thing up, then i'll get outa here. i promise i just gotta pick up one thing. i need ten thousand dollars. my lawyer says if we can spread ten thousand bucks around, we can get the case dropped. are you kiddin'? did you ever see a 14-year-old testify in court? did you see the papers? "lamotta on vice rap." everybody likes a shot at the champ. don't make no difference no more. what friends? that's it. those are the jewels that were in the belt. you want the jewels or the belt? i can't raise the ten thousand. fuck 'em. let 'em put me on trial. so there i am in the can. and not the one that says "gentlemen" on the door. i'm talkin' about jail! down south! i mean, jail up north is gotta be like summer camp compared to jail down in cracker country. and if you're a guy like me, you ain't got a chance in a place like that. especially if you're italian. you come from the bronx. and you're an ex-champ. as soon as they saw me. soon as they heard me. i know i'm in trouble. to me, they got an accent, and to them, i got an accent! you gotta get the picture -- i'm big, i got small hands, i walk like i'm still in the ring. the balls of my feet pop up and down, you know. and whenever i get the chance, i read a lot. so naturally, takin' all this into co sideration, they figure it adds up to one thing -- i'm queer! now i didn't mind too much when they called me "queer" or "mr. tough guy" or "yankee punk". but one day these screws got to me. i was workin' on the work gang, pickin' up some trees that were knocked down by a storm or somethin' and puttin' 'em on this truck. all of a sudden. one of the trees slipped and fell on me and pinned me to the ground. i'm lyin' there with a tree across my chest! this screw walks over, takin' his time, he looks down at me and says, "well, champ pimp. you lyin' down on the job again?"! they got a great sense of humor when they're standin' there with a gun in their arms and you got a tree on your chest! so i look up at him and say, "oh, this tree. it fell on me." and he says, "oh, i'm sorry. if i'd have known, i would've yelled 'timber'" i said, "hey, look. it hurts. i think maybe i broke somethin'!" he says, "well, whaddaya know. champ pimp's got himself a boo-boo." then i got as stupid as him. i said, "if i'm champ pimp. how 'bout givin' me the money you made last night?"! then another screw comes over and says, "this yankee creep givin' you trouble?" -- what kind of trouble? what am i gonna do -- hit 'em with the tree? now anybody else in their right mind would've said, "no sir, i wouldn't think of giving any of you gentlemen trouble. i just want to serve my time and get the hell out of here as soon as i can." that's anybody else. when i said it. it was a little different. "you stupid cracker. take your hands off me or i'll get up and kick your brains out -- but first you gotta bend over so i can find 'em!" next thing i know i'm in the hole. solitary confinement. all my life i had guys in my corner yellin' "go get 'em, jake. kill 'em! you're the greatest." now there's nobody rootin' for me. but it wasn't so bad. i learned things there. i learned how to scratch a calendar on the wall. i never knew how to do that before. now i know. monday is one scratch. tuesday is two scratches. wednesday is three scratches. and so on. except for sundays. sundays is no scratches. sundays rested. why, why, why? i'm a man, i'm a man. i'm no faggot. i'm not a faggot. ma, why? what do they want? my cock's not enough. what do they want from me? why? ma? why? why, why, why me? you took it away from me. they took everything away. what do they want from me? what the fuck do they want from me? i ain't bad. i ain't bad. i'm not that guy. i'm not that guy. i'm not a monster. i'm not an animal. i'm not like that. please. i'm not like that. please. please. please. and so, as shakespeare said, i've been down so low there's nowhere else to go. except here, gentlemen, with you bums. i call you "gentlemen". but you know what you really are! you know, this place used to be pretty exclusive. now they got bouncers outside to throw the drunks in! my first night here i said to the boss, "where's the toilet?" -- he said, "you're in it!" by the way, this engagement is just a stepping stone for me. if i do good here, i'm ready to get out of the business! ok, ok, i know what you're waitin' for -- and from the looks of you, you been waitin' for it for a long time. i had my own joint in miami beach once. it was too high-class for you guys. we had a 50-cent minimum charge just to keep out the riff-raff! hey, sorry. here's your girls. yeah, she's here. just like it's advertised out front. she's come back. a girl who's seen the lower depths. who's been as far as i have in that direction. she's on her way back up now. give you an idea how low she was! let's give her a warm welcome. make her glad she's back, boys. -- miss emma 48's! look, sweetie, be a good girl. here's some money. take a cab. go home by yourself. just wanna walk around a little, sort of unwind. ok? yeah. i dunno. i'll call you. hey, joey -- no, joey, no. look, wait a minute, please -- aw, joey -- you're right. you're perfectly right. you got every right in the world to hate my guts. no, please. i know i was a cocksucker. you're right. i shoulda never raised my hands to you. no, joey, listen to me -- go ahead. hit me again. i deserve it. pay me back. more. more. go ahead, joey. i deserve it. you know, i'm not a philosopher or anything like that but i been around a little and the way i look at it is -- we're, all of us, lookin' for the same thing: a shot at the title. no matter what you wanta be. you wanta shot at bein' the best. well, i had mine and it'll always be in the record books. it don't make no difference what happens to me from here on in -- i got my shot and that's a fact. some guys weren't that lucky. like the one marlon brando played in "on the waterfront" -- an up and comer who's now a down and outer. you remember. there was this scene in the back of the car with his brother charlie, a small-time racket guy, and it went somethin' like this -- "it wasn't him, charlie. it was you. you 'member that night in the garden you came down my dressing room and said. 'kid, this ain't your night. we're going for the price on wilson.' you 'member that? 'this ain't your night!' my night -- i coulda taken wilson apart! so what happens? he gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark, and what do i get? a one-way ticket to palookaville. i never was no good after that night. it was like a peak you reach. then it went downhill. it was you, charlie. you was my brother, charlie. you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. you shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so i wouldn't have to take them dives for the short end money. you don't understand! i coulda had class. i coulda been a contender. i coulda been somebody -- instead of a bum, which is what i am. let's face it. it was you, charlie." how long do i have?