What Makes The Sport Of Boxing So Special
The reality of it, the drama, the rags to riches stories, the characterization of humanity, the primal intrigue and the courageous individuals who step into the ring for the entertainment of mere mortals.
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I found myself doing a bit of thinking today and undertaking in some research on boxing history. I often get asked by people why do you love boxing so much? There’s really no one answer, more a culmination of them.
I thought to myself today, if I was describe why the sport of boxing is so great to a person who has never watched it before, what would be the best method of explanation?
The fact that the boxing ring is the chamber of truth, in a world where being politically correct and being fake are more rampant traits in society than perhaps ever before, the sport of boxing still upholds fleeting traditions like honour, discipline and respect, which seem to be a dying breed in people today.
The sport represents what is possible for those willing to work hard to achieve their dreams, no matter where you’re from or what your background is.
Perhaps boxing’s best characteristics as a professional sport are the stories it personifies. Many have seen the ‘Rocky’ movies which although are cinematic master pieces, probably represent the lesser part of reality in the sport.
The stories I refer to are in fact those of ones for every day folks. Normal people who struggle, get knocked down and get back up, time and time again. For me, I think boxing as a whole and the boxer’s journey, acts as a metaphor for a lot of people in life.
The story of a boxer is often a tragic one. He fights his way to the top to become champion, only to get knocked out or lose at the end of his career, what many would people would define as failure. Perhaps it is an undeniable human instinct and fact of life, that human beings gravitate towards tragedy and carnage.
Why do people stop to look at a car accident on the side of the road? Why do people stare when two men are fighting in the street? It’s just human nature, we’re drawn to tragedy. Our society feeds off it, just open a newspaper.
I think people can often identify with a boxer’s plight more so than other athletes and see their own struggles in them, in whatever their problems in life are, as lets face it, we all go through them at some point.
A boxer’s career in many ways is like someone’s life, ups and downs, peaks and valleys, swings and roundabouts, until it comes to an end which all things do in life, as bitter sweet as it is. Life goes on, boxers retire, men and women die, babies are born, new champions emerge and on it goes.
Perhaps its the picking yourself back up off the canvas analogy that I identify most with on a personal level, as I’ve found it to carry some merit in my own life. It is the comeback stories that I love the most, both in boxing and in life.
There’s no doubt that boxers are some of the most respected athletes in all of sport, their a special breed. Enough of my talk, check this video out by Nabil Smash – you’ll see what I mean.
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