[Billy "The Great" Hope]


Note, this is a continuation of the protagonist from the 2015 film, Southpaw. Some things have been added to fill in the gaps in his story.

First Name William
Last Name Hope
Common Name Billy
Ring Name Billy Hope
Nicknames The Great, Southpaw, The Phoenix
Weight Class Light Heavyweight
Birthplace Manhattan, NY, USA
DOB August 18th
Height 6’ 0”
Weight 174 lbs.
Hair Color Dirty blond
Eye Color Blue
Facial Hair 3cm of full stubble
Record 43 wins, 1 loss by TKO, no draws, 38 KO wins
Fighting Style Boxer-puncher, formerly a swarmer
Boxing Stance Switch Orthodox, formerly orthodox
Best Punches Uppercut, hook, cross
Reach 76 in. (193 cm)
Signature Colors Black, white
Favorite Gear Brands Everlast, Grant, Adidas

Personality
Regardless of the tragedies Billy has faced, he still is a sufferer of temperament issues since the death of his beloved spouse and mother to his daughter, Maureen. He has been reclusive about romance ever since the loss, focusing on boxing, his other true love. His top priority is his career and his little girl. Since his wife’s departure, Billy had learned to make his own decisions that he once relied on Maureen for.

Tattoos Swallow bird on right side of neck. Calligraphic ink of "Father" on the back of his right forearm and "Daughter" on the opposite left arm. "Fear No Man" on his back. "Leila" on his left chest and her birthdate on the right in Roman numerals. His newest was for Maureen on the back of his neck.
Scars Billy has a deformed left eyebrow from years of beatings in the ring. His nose is crooked and he sometimes has trouble smiling due to nerve damage. At times, he gets punch-drunk.

Relationships
Maureen Hope - Wife (Deceased, shot and succumbed to blood loss)
Leila Hope - Daughter
Tick - Trainer
Jordan Mains - Promoter
Angela Rivera - Housekeeper/Babysitter (Potential love interest for plots)
Hoppy - Sparring partner (Deceased)
Mikey - Best friend

Song "Phenomenal" by Eminem

Playby Jake Gyllenhaal
Voice Claim Jake Gyllenhaal


Backstory
Billy’s parents were killed in a housefire when he was only three. His father was a construction worker, and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. Shipped off to the NYC orphanage since Billy had no known relatives, he felt isolated among his peers. He took beatings regularly in alleyways and that was when he wanted to learn how to fight-- to channel out his frustrations and anger on the world and to defend himself. It was when he was a preteen he met a fellow orphan, Maureen, who became the light in his world of darkness.

The two married two years before growing out of the orphanage they were never claimed out of for adoption. At the age of twenty, Billy married Maureen, who was then nineteen and pregnant with their child. Leila would be born, and Billy’s professional boxing career would kick off.

Hope dominated the middleweight division, becoming a triple-crown champion at the age of twenty-five. He wasn’t good at anything else and vowed to secure his wife and daughter’s future through boxing.

At the age of thirty, Billy Hope was a legend in the making. He was the winner of several Golden Glove trophies and pulled off many successful title defenses. He never faced defeat, until he felt a real loss when his wife was shot and killed in the midst of a brawl with Miguel Escobar, his challenger for the titles. It remains unknown if it was an accident or intentional. Lost and without hope, Billy plummeted to the ground, his main source of motivation stripped from him. He fell into a great depression, and his mind went into a dark place.

During his next fight, Billy lost his sanity and struck the referee after being declared a loser by technical knockout due to a bad cut on his eyebrow. The referee’s family sued Billy for the emotional and physical damage and won. He was revoked of his boxing license and his promoter, Jordan Mains, moved on to another fighter. Billy felt betrayed, not just by others, but by himself and his lack of self-control.

Billy was down to square one, and he lost custody over his young daughter after being caught red-handed with a gun and alcohol in his system after an attempt to go after the bodyguard he believed was responsible for Maureen’s death. As a result, he also lost the house he had purchased with his millions, and people he thought were his friends. His close buddy, Mikey, was the only one who stayed.

Things gradually got worse as Leila drowned in her grief over the loss of her mother and the intense emotions she had over her father’s poor choices. She stayed at a children’s shelter until her dad would stabilize his life, which unfortunately, would not happen as soon as possible

In search of a job after buying a rundown apartment, Billy looked to a local boxing gym where Tick, a former professional fighter was training local kids. But Billy’s profane language and attitude made Tick resent him so he refused to hire him. Tick didn’t train professionals.

Tick awakened when a boy who trained at his gym regularly, Hoppy, was shot defending his mother from his abusive father. He agreed to train Billy and bring him back into boxing. After a big win at a charity fight for veterans, Jordan Mains made an appearance and agreed to give Billy a title shot and get back his license. Billy agreed, but only if Tick was there in his corner. Tick reluctantly agreed.

Leila, wanting to watch Miguel Escobar go down as much as her father, protested that she see the fight for herself. Maureen never allowed it before, and after a while of debating, Billy allowed her to be backstage and watch it on television.

Tick trained Billy to switch to southpaw and confuse Ecsobar in order to get the upperhand in his upcoming fight. Hope took a brutal beating through most of the fight. His opponent was faster than he was. After all of the defensive drills he put Billy through, Tick didn’t want Hope to end up as he did-- retired from an injured eye.

Hope picked up the victory, knocking down Escobar in the final 12th round with a vicious uppercut from the southpaw stance. By unanimous decision, Billy won back his belts, feeling fulfilled in his thirst for revenge.

Buying back the house he had lost with his purse money from the fight, Billy gave Leila back her home, where she was meant to be. Whether or not he will be able to love someone as he did Maureen is nothing short of a mystery.

Heart this
1 | Mar 29th 2023 19:34