Rico 'Honeyboy' Ramirez is a Puerto Rican from the South Bronx who finds fame and fortune as a middleweight boxer. But he soon learns that it's not all it's cracked up to be when he loses sight of his goals. He becomes romantically involved with his attractive publicist, and then he has to prove himself in the ring after learning that his biggest victory was rigged by his shady, mob-connected, promoters.