"You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round"
About this Quote
The subtext is that toughness isnt a personality trait; its a choice under pressure. Corbett repeats himself - "one more round" twice - like a corner man barking instructions, a rhythm meant to override panic. The redundancy is the point: when youre hurt, your mind negotiates. This sentence cuts off negotiation. It offers a script.
Context matters because Corbett wasnt just any fighter. As the "Gentleman Jim" figure who helped steer boxing from bare-knuckle spectacle toward modern, gloved legitimacy, he represented discipline and technique as much as raw aggression. His era valued stoicism, self-control, and the Protestant-flavored idea that character is proven in adversity. So the quote doubles as cultural messaging: the champion is morally superior because he endures.
Its also quietly transactional. Corbett implies that winning is earned in the rounds you dont want to enter - the hidden surcharge of ambition. In sports, work, politics, even creative life, thats the line people borrow: not to romanticize suffering, but to justify the extra rep, the extra edit, the extra hour when quitting feels reasonable.
Quote Details
| Topic | Never Give Up |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Corbett, James J. (2026, January 15). You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-become-a-champion-by-fighting-one-more-round-162136/
Chicago Style
Corbett, James J. "You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-become-a-champion-by-fighting-one-more-round-162136/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-become-a-champion-by-fighting-one-more-round-162136/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.








