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In a run-down apartment complex,
eleven-year-old Tim endures being teased by his older brother
Steven as they try to sleep on a fold-out couch. Uncle Frank, the
boys' reluctant guardian, threatens to beat them if they leave the
house while he is gone for the night. As he does every night,
Frank takes the vicious pit-bull he keeps chained outside the door
with him and leaves. Monica, Tess, Andrew, and Rafael are on hand
for this assignment, but Rafael notes they may need someone else's
help, someone who, unlike themselves, actually knows what it is
like to be a child and have to fight to survive. The next morning,
Frank returns with the dog and prepares to sleep on the same couch
as the boys go to school, demanding them to come home late so he
can sleep longer. After school, Steven taunts and punches Tim and
won't let him hang out with his gang of friends. Instead, Tim
wanders into Tess' gym, where Rafael and Tess train boxers. Tim,
wanting to be able to beat up Steven, begins to train. Later, Tim
makes friends with Andrew, the new handyman at the complex. That
night Steven complains of a headache and then collapses while
trying to get out of bed. Tim panics. At the hospital, Tim learns
from Monica that Steven has meningitis, a disease affecting his
brain, and that he will be in the hospital for quite some time.
Tim, tired of being pushed around, is glad to get a vacation from
his brother. Tim gets a hooded sweatshirt from Goodwill, but a
bully named Jimmy recognizes the sweatshirt as his own and
forcefully removes it from Tim. This only gives Tim more incentive
to train with Rafael, and he does, becoming stronger everyday. At
the gym, he sees a poster of Muhammad Ali, who Tim really admires
because he always won his fights. Andrew tells Tim the story of
Muhammad Ali's greatest fight: how Ali refused to fight in a war
because he believed God didn't want him to kill another man, and
how, because of this, he was made to give up his boxing title.
Later, Tim sees Jimmy and, using his new skills, forces him to
return the shirt. Tim learns that his brother is returning from
the hospital and plans to bully Steven the way he used to bully
Tim, but is surprised to find Steven in a wheelchair with constant
need of Tim's assistance. Later, Jimmy's brother challenges Tim to
a fight, and they agree to meet at Tess' gym. Tim fights the
older, bigger boy and wins, collapsing into Andrew's arms,
sobbing. Andrew tells him that God loves him, and reveals Muhammad
Ali standing in the ring. Tess speaks for Ali, telling Tim that he
must fight for his family. Steven and Frank love him, but they are
unable to show it and don't know how to care for each other. Tess
reads Tim a poem about fighting for love, and Ali hugs Tim,
telling him not to forget this. Tim returns home and confronts
Frank, telling him that he loves him, but that Frank must take
better care of them. Touched and wanting to change, Frank begins
to cook breakfast for his family. Andrew assures Frank that
guardian angels will be watching over them.
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