Welcome one and all to my first ever Zootopia story! This is a story that I'm very proud of and hope you all enjoy. This story takes massive inspiration from the movies Rocky (1976) and Ali (2001).

Big thank you to my good friend, Batmarcus for helping write this story, Disney for creating this awesome movie that we all enjoy and love, and a massive thank you to Nintendo for creating the game this story is based on.

With all that said and done, hope you all enjoy and see you at the end notes!

The crisp, cool morning air filled the young rabbit's lungs as he inhaled deeply. It was 5AM on a Friday in mid-January; The sun had yet to even come over the horizon and warm the city of Zootopia with its rays. Exhaling, his breath visible in the morning air, he took out a pair of earbuds from his pocket and put them in his large ears before taking out his phone and scrolled through his music selection. Finding the song he wanted, he chose it and began his morning run.

The song was the classic R&B piece "Land of 1000 Dances" by Wilson Pickett. As the sound of the horns filled his ears followed by the bass guitar and drums, the young buck rabbit broke into a sprint, fueled by the power of Rhythm and Blues. As he ran through the streets of the city, he passed by other mammals who were up this early due to their jobs, whether they were getting up early for work or just getting home from it. He had just passed by some garbage mammals who were picking up the trash from a row of apartments, waving at the young bunny as he passed them by. The young rabbit turned a corner and spotted some mammals who were just getting off the late shift at a couple of local restaurants and diners who were opening the doors to their apartment buildings.

The rabbit passed by the newspaper truck that was dropping off the various-sized papers for the newsstands, from the regular sized papers to the extra small print papers for the rodent residents of the city. If he had to pick a favorite time of day, it would be now. The city was peaceful and quiet. Though he still loved it when it was bustling and full of life, there was something about the calm serenity that he appreciated. Maybe it was the fact that often he didn't have to worry about anyone getting in his way on his jog.

After a while, the song began to fade and he arrived at his destination as well as the end of the first part of his morning workout. The place in question was a small local gym by the name of "Doc's Boxing Gym". It wasn't a big, fancy gym like those used by rich or middle-class mammals who just worked out to stay looking good. In fact, it was somewhat the opposite. It was small and a tiny bit worn down due to the age of the building, but it was nice enough for the young rabbit.

"I keep telling you that you should get a car, Mac." A voice said from behind him.

Turning around, the rabbit found himself staring up into the face of a large and somewhat pudgy-looking lion in a tracksuit, a few hairs in his main had begun to go grey, but other than that it was a deep red and gold color. This was Doc Louis, the gym's owner and Mac's trainer.

"What's the point of wearing yourself out before I get here?" Doc asked.

"Oh yeah, 'get a car' you say. Let me get on that with all that money I don't have," Mac said with a smirk up at the older predator, who chuckled heartily at the rabbit's sarcasm as he walked passed the small bunny, took out a key and opened the door to the boxing gym.

Upon opening the door and turning on the overhead lights, the lion and bunny were met with the sight and smell that they've come to love. The sight was that of sandbags and peanut bags hanging from the ceiling with bits of duct tape patching them up due to wear and tear, a regulation-sized boxing ring in the center of the large room for sparring matches, and weights and other equipment scattered around the place, from barbells and dumbbells, to jump ropes and paw strengtheners.

The smell was that of sweat, tears, blood, and a tiny bit of spit and vomit. "The smell of a contender" as Doc so put it.

Entering the gym, Mac headed straight for the locker room to change out of his grey tracksuit and change into his work out gear. Upon opening his locker and taking out his gear, he looked in a small mirror inside his locker as he took off his tracksuit's hood and unzipped his shirt, revealing his midnight black fur coat. He examined his facial features and smiled.

He was a young jack rabbit of about seventeen years of age. His nose was a small pink button in the sea of black on his face, and his ears were long and had little grey tips at the end of them. While he wasn't a vain mammal by nature, he took small bit of pride in his looks. He didn't have a single blemish or boil on his face. He had to admit that puberty had been inordinately kind to him.

Snapping out of his moment of vanity, Mac changed out of his track suit and pants and put on his workout gear, consisting of a grey tank top, white shorts with a blue stripe, and boxing shoes. After taping up his knuckles, he closed and locked his locker before heading out to train. As he left the locker room, he passed by a poster with a large, intimidating photo of a black-furred gorilla standing under the letters "WMBL" in all caps with the words "Mr. Sandman" at the gorilla's waist. Looking up at the poster, Mac smiled determinately.

"This is gonna be my year. Just you wait and see," He said in a near whisper before heading out into the gym proper.

Hope you loved this first chapter. Sorry that it's so short, hopefully the future chapters will be longer. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and especially review (Seriously, I live off reviews). Anyway, see you next chapter, and I am out!