A boxing match is arranged against Toni Alonso, purely for the purposes of the film. This is the first time Belarmino has fought for years, though we are not told this explicitly. Prior to the bout, Belarmino explains that he doesn't fear losing when he fights, as winning or losing are just the two sides of the sportsman's lot. Rather he fears to "fazer má figura", to perform in such a way that he feels ashamed of himself. He then goes on to criticise Portuguese boxing for being infested with leeches and hangers-on, impresarios who creamed money off the sport without constructing or contributing. From the tenor of the conversation it would seem that, for some years, there has not been professional boxing in Portugal. When asked whether he would still be able to fight at a competitive level, Belarmino demurs and discusses the conditions a boxer needs to perform to the best of his ability: good sustenance and the freedom to train and concentrate on the match. The implication is that these are absent from his own life.