Authentic Boxing Club is a perfect metaphor for the American dream. Every surface is painted red, white or blue. The walls are covered with motivational posters espousing philosophies of a truly capitalistic bent: "Winners are simply willing to do what losers won't"; "If you can accept losing, you can't win"; "He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat." It's in a basement, so you literally start at the bottom. Like life, it costs nothing to join. But you've got to pay your way with "blood, sweat and tears," as trainer Larry Edgar often says. If you work a little, you might be able to pick up a little dough at a West Bottoms rumble. If you're like most people, you can check into Authentic every night to slug it out, honing your edge so you can put up your best possible fight for glory. Because if you've got that rare mix of skill, determination and luck that God bestows on only one out of every fifty million people, you actually have a chance to rise above Kansas City and become champion of the world.