Boxing Day
I have never been a really big fan of professional boxing, but as someone who has put on the gloves and punched well above his weight class when he was 20, and well below it when he turned 30, I have always maintained a casual interest in this raw pugilism.
I have always believed that in the same way insurance is simply legalized betting/handicapping, boxing is essentially legalized assault and battery. The libertarian in me says "If you want to get your brains beaten in, go nuts."
There are many boxers with whom I am fascinated with, and that has more to do with the things they did outside the ring then it does with what they did inside of it. It often makes me wonder- what is wrong with boxers? Why does George Foreman name all of his children George? It can't be out of curiosity.
There are two that stand out- in and of themselves eras in a sport that literally picked itself up off the mat more times than I can count. Mike Tyson and Cassius Clay.
Cassius Clay, stoically standing with raised arm and a clenched fist on the podium in Rome, subsequently used his position of notoriety to defiantly lament a vicious war that he didn't even pretend to understand (and I mean this in an uninsulting way.) "Why should I go and kill other poor people that have never done anything wrong to me." Philosopher Kings could not have espoused it any better. When he was granted a Muslim name, he was proud of it. As a result of it and the activism associated with his religious beliefs, he encountered discrimination in all 50 US States, the likes of which would create havoc for libertarians the world over in this era.
There are hundreds of chapters in hundreds of books about the true impact that Muhammad Ali had on the civil rights movement, and many scholars say that but for his involvement in the civil rights movement, it would not have enjoyed the popular support that it did- both in the African American community and in the White community. He was also seen as a moderate ally of the nation of Islam, despite a blind allegiance to its prophet Elijah. The movie didn't really do it justice.
Like so many other professional athletes, personal troubles and swindling handlers deprived him of long standing dignity- to the point he was forced to fight well passed his prime - which no doubt contributed to his rapidly declining health. He now lives, albeit comfortably, on the charity of others.
Mike Tyson is arguably the most impressive physical specimen to ever compete in any sport, let alone boxing. At his prime, he was 220 pounds of rock hard granite. He fought in seven consecutive fights for the largest payday in the history of professional sports. Now gets free room and board from a Las Vegas Hotel in exchange for "training" three hours a day and walking the Casino floor for another three.
He is an animal on display, so is anyone really surprised that he has so often acted like one?History will not remember the ten first round knockouts. History will remember the carnival. Personally, I want to meet "that guy." You know, the guy that Tyson fought in prison just to remind everyone he was Mike Tyson. "That guy," or for that matter "those guys" have a story to tell. I bet it is an awesome story.
Boxing has a lot of problems, as do many other professional sports, but for some reason, their problems are so seedy. It is, ironically, the least regulated of all sports despite the DIRECT role the U.S. States take in the licensing of matches and boxers. There are a hodge-podge of international organizations that claim to watch over the athletes in their stables.
By contrast, the NBA has a pension program and works directly with schools and inner cities. The NFL receives almost as much money from state gaming officials as it does from ticket revenue. The NHL regulates agents. The MLB guarantee that single A and double A players have chaperones.
Boxing is just beating itself up. Boxers can, and should, have a union too. If they did, I think Mike Tyson's legacy would have been very different.
I have always believed that in the same way insurance is simply legalized betting/handicapping, boxing is essentially legalized assault and battery. The libertarian in me says "If you want to get your brains beaten in, go nuts."
There are many boxers with whom I am fascinated with, and that has more to do with the things they did outside the ring then it does with what they did inside of it. It often makes me wonder- what is wrong with boxers? Why does George Foreman name all of his children George? It can't be out of curiosity.
There are two that stand out- in and of themselves eras in a sport that literally picked itself up off the mat more times than I can count. Mike Tyson and Cassius Clay.
Cassius Clay, stoically standing with raised arm and a clenched fist on the podium in Rome, subsequently used his position of notoriety to defiantly lament a vicious war that he didn't even pretend to understand (and I mean this in an uninsulting way.) "Why should I go and kill other poor people that have never done anything wrong to me." Philosopher Kings could not have espoused it any better. When he was granted a Muslim name, he was proud of it. As a result of it and the activism associated with his religious beliefs, he encountered discrimination in all 50 US States, the likes of which would create havoc for libertarians the world over in this era.
There are hundreds of chapters in hundreds of books about the true impact that Muhammad Ali had on the civil rights movement, and many scholars say that but for his involvement in the civil rights movement, it would not have enjoyed the popular support that it did- both in the African American community and in the White community. He was also seen as a moderate ally of the nation of Islam, despite a blind allegiance to its prophet Elijah. The movie didn't really do it justice.
Like so many other professional athletes, personal troubles and swindling handlers deprived him of long standing dignity- to the point he was forced to fight well passed his prime - which no doubt contributed to his rapidly declining health. He now lives, albeit comfortably, on the charity of others.
Mike Tyson is arguably the most impressive physical specimen to ever compete in any sport, let alone boxing. At his prime, he was 220 pounds of rock hard granite. He fought in seven consecutive fights for the largest payday in the history of professional sports. Now gets free room and board from a Las Vegas Hotel in exchange for "training" three hours a day and walking the Casino floor for another three.
He is an animal on display, so is anyone really surprised that he has so often acted like one?History will not remember the ten first round knockouts. History will remember the carnival. Personally, I want to meet "that guy." You know, the guy that Tyson fought in prison just to remind everyone he was Mike Tyson. "That guy," or for that matter "those guys" have a story to tell. I bet it is an awesome story.
Boxing has a lot of problems, as do many other professional sports, but for some reason, their problems are so seedy. It is, ironically, the least regulated of all sports despite the DIRECT role the U.S. States take in the licensing of matches and boxers. There are a hodge-podge of international organizations that claim to watch over the athletes in their stables.
By contrast, the NBA has a pension program and works directly with schools and inner cities. The NFL receives almost as much money from state gaming officials as it does from ticket revenue. The NHL regulates agents. The MLB guarantee that single A and double A players have chaperones.
Boxing is just beating itself up. Boxers can, and should, have a union too. If they did, I think Mike Tyson's legacy would have been very different.
posted by Atlas Hugged at
7:09 a.m.
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