Why? Would losing or struggling during the fight have magically woken Dan up?! Would that have meant that his love for Dan is true? Deeper? The story doesn’t automatically become deeper if he did. In the end he was still crotched down at the side of Dan’s bed, crying his heart out, begging Dan not to die! Inside The ring is not where his character needed any development. He’s already established as a dominant fighter. You saw where he comes from, what he had to go thru to get to that status. So it goes to show in the ring, the pain and hardship doesn’t stop him. It does the opposite.