"Anquan Boldin's toughness has been defined by one hit in September 2008 — a violent helmet-to-helmet shot while trying to make a touchdown catch over the middle that knocked him out and shattered his face.

Multiple facial fractures had to be repaired by 40 titanium screws and seven plates. The wide receiver's displaced jaw had to be wired to realign his bite.

Then, as if he were coming back from a broken finger instead of a broken face, Boldin returned to the field after two missed games to make nine catches.

"To me, that wasn't the most devastating thing I had to go through," said Boldin, the Ravens' biggest acquisition of the year, who opens training camp with the team this week. "For me, I just saw it as another obstacle."

Boldin's gritty attitude comes from "The Muck," the nickname for his Florida hometown, Pahokee.

It lies on the shore of Lake Okeechobee, about 40 miles west of West Palm Beach, where the dark soil is rich and the population of 6,500 is generally poor.

Over the past decade, the town lost its only hospital and funeral home. A few years ago, the captain of the football team was shot in the head leaving the homecoming dance.

The town's hard life was part of Boldin's. He recalls his parents taking him out to the field to pick corn. He didn't want to do it for a living.

He remembers the days when sugar cane was burned (it reduces the amount of leafy materials delivered to factories for processing). Young people would line up in front of the flames to grab escaping rabbits. Boldin said he easily caught more than 100 rabbits, whose hides went for up to $3 each.

"I felt like if I could make it out of there," Boldin said, "the rest of the stuff is easy."

At a position where many stars crave the spotlight, Boldin is a warrior, not a whiner. He has no fear. No regard for his body.

Boldin, 29, thrives on making tough catches between defenders, pulling the ball away from cornerbacks and delivering blocks.

His physical play was among the reasons the Ravens traded draft picks in the third and fourth rounds to the Arizona Cardinals for the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and a fifth-round pick.

Shortly after the trade, the Ravens anointed Boldin as their No. 1 receiver when they gave him a four-year, $28 million contract, with $10 million guaranteed."