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At the beginning of Better Call Saul S2E04, we see Mike sitting on his couch admiring some kind of boxing gloves charm.

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And then, later in the episode when Mike confronts Tuco Salmanca, Tuco is shown wearing the exact same boxing gloves charm.

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Mike and Tuco get into a fight and Mike grabs Tuco by the shirt (near the charm) but Mike never rips Tuco's necklace off.

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If Mike never took Tuco's necklace then how does he now have it (assuming that it is in fact the exact same charm)? Why would Mike even want it?

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  • is it possible that Mike or someone in his family, has won the golden gloves in amateur boxing? and that Tuco has silver, runner-up, from his time? i'm also curious, as i don't actually know what kind of award they distribute for the winner of the golden gloves
    – Nicholas Aysen
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 6:34
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    I feel like it is the same gloves but it seems to be golden in colour in the dim-light. And considering Tuco has the same charm in Breaking Bad, there "might" be a future plot-line where Tuco and Mike meets again and perhaps Mike gives away the charm?
    – Nikhil Eshvar
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 7:01
  • @NikhilEshvar I think. that's the answer
    – Ankit Sharma ♦
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 7:19
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    @NicholasAysen They do award something similar but I don't think they are as "blinged" as the ones in the image.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 11:39
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    Seems like clever foreshadowing. Hell, even the episode's name is gloves off. We may know the reason in a future episode.
    – Abhishek Mishra
    Commented Apr 20, 2018 at 6:19

1 Answer 1

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The boxing glove necklace is one and the same. Period. Whilst all film & TV productions are obviously artificially lit, the lighting director on this show does an exceptional job... that being said:

The lighting in Mike's house is an artificial small side lamp with no exterior light; or even TV (very warm and subdued): Souvenir

and whilst the El Michoacona restaurant interior is not in direct sunlight, Tuco is sitting front and centre before two huge open panes flooding in scads of Albuquerque ambient sunlight; giving the impression of a more silvery metal:enter image description here

Head outside, where our combatants are squaring up in the shade, and the gloves are looking more like the prize Mike is admiring as he licks his wounds in the pre-credit post scene:enter image description here

~ All these tales of Golden Gloves and past glories are pure nonsense. And just because the director doesn't show Mike ripping the charm from Tuco's chest, doesn't indicate proof of there having to be two separate 'Mr.T hand-me-downs'.

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    Thanks for this response. After reconsideration and a closer look, I now believe both gloves to be silver. Unfortunately though, w.r.t. your response, it does actually answer my question (which is, why do Mike and Tuco have the same boxing charm?).
    – Charles
    Commented Mar 1, 2020 at 14:33
  • Unfortunately, it does actually answer your question. Huh? Is this a typo? I see cheap plated gold myself, not silver. But no matter you accept they're the same. But are you still stuck on the fact the scene didn't literally show Mike ripping the necklace off of Tuco?
    – Corky McButterpants
    Commented Mar 2, 2020 at 15:42
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    Yeah that was a typo, I meant to say does not. But are you still stuck on the fact the scene didn't literally show Mike ripping the necklace off of Tuco? -- Yes. An action as significant as Mike stealing what seems to be Tuco's necklace, Tuco not noticing it and/or not pursuing after Mike for it, and there being no apparent motive behind Mike doing so, leaves on the table a good number of unanswered questions. As several others have commented, the opening scene of that episode could very well be a moment in the somewhat distant future (i.e., several episodes or a season forward).
    – Charles
    Commented Mar 3, 2020 at 1:26
  • There's no way Mike could have ripped the boxing charms off Tuco's neck in that brief altercation. If you look closely, the boxing gloves are attached to a closed loop that the necklace itself feeds though. Mike would have had to of jerked the entire necklace off Tuco and he'd for sure notice that. Having an opening scene feature such a significant plot element but then not explicitly show how it came into Mike's possession is extremely, extremely unlikely.
    – Charles
    Commented Mar 3, 2020 at 1:30
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    You don't need to see the necklace being actually torn off to understand that the opening scene is immediately after Mike has met with Nacho (end of episode) and been given an envelope of 25 large in cash. The same envelope he drops on his kitchen table on returning home. You know, with his face beaten to a pulp. You seem set on making this far more complicated than it is... how would it be some weeks in the future, and why? I do wish you were more of a Charles McGill and I could stop banging my head against this brick wall. You're done. You are done!
    – Corky McButterpants
    Commented Mar 3, 2020 at 17:20

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