A memory has popped into my head. Years ago, NPR (I think) discussed this book. An enslaved man makes money for the man who enslaved him by bare-knuckle fighting other enslaved men. Our Hero, who is unbeatable, states that one morning, the man who enslaved him came to him and said he (the enslaver) bet his entire fortune on a poker game and lost, and the only way he can get out is if the Hero wins the next fight, on which the enslaver has bet money he doesn’t have. Sensing the enslaver’s desperation, the Hero strikes a bargain: he’ll lick the next guy but good on condition of his freedom and ten silver dollars. The enslaver agrees, the Hero wins his freedom, and his true adventures begin.
Does this ring a bell for anyone?