Blood of a Champion on AllMovie

A once-promising boxer with a shady past finds that his second shot at glory may come with a hefty price-tag in director Lawrence Page's unforgiving boxing drama. It's been ten long years since recently released ex-con Shadow (Bokeem Woodbine) has tasted freedom, and life on the outside just isn't easy to adjust to after doing hard time. Though his loving wife Sharon (Deborah Cox) is willing to take him back, Shadow can't help feeling the ghost of his past weighing heavy on his weary soul. Though the lure of the lucrative underground street fighting circuit proves impossible to resist for a fighter looking to reclaim his former glory, the ruthless moneymen who run the business from behind the scenes are willing to go to great lengths to ensure that their secret doesn't get out. When Shadow attempts to break free of his underworld binds and the powers that be make clear that his family will pay the price for his actions, the natural born fighter finds that he must choose his battles carefully to ensure both the survival of himself and his family.