Pain jolts up his leg, staggering him. The second blow swings wide.

There's no satisfaction in this, Ellis knows. Not for him. But that's not the point of the exercise, just as it doesn't matter if being caught off balance leaves him at a disadvantage.

He swings again. It's not calculated. Ellis fights in one manner: straight-forward, dogged, and unbothered by what the approach nets him in return.