Boxing in the early and mid-twentieth century had an appeal that captured the eyes and ears of millions of Americans. Championship fights and popular fighters were on national television and in newspaper headlines. At the time, boxing was relevant in the American sports world. However, over the past 30 years, boxing has regressed and lost its popularity. Spectacles like the graceful Muhammad Ali and the hard-hitting Mike Tyson are gone and have been replaced by lackluster fighters and greedy fight promoters who only care about their profit cut. On top of that, an increasing pile of evidence is starting to show more clearly the dangers of repeated head trauma and how corrupt the business of boxing has become. Lastly, boxing is pressured by the rapidly growing sport, mixed martial arts (MMA), because of its safer nature and a strong corporate leader. These causes combined will finally cause boxing to die as a sport in America unless serious steps are taken to reform the sport.
In boxing, there are more than 20 sanctioning bodies (Ringsidebygus). This makes the sport very decentralized and hard to follow, particularly for the average fan at home. On the contrast, during the high point of boxing in the mid-twentieth century, there were only three sanctioning bodies, the World Boxing Association, the International Boxing Federation, and the World Boxing Council. The small number of bodies and the undisputed champions were elements that made boxing easier to follow and more fan friendly (Hauser).
Also, since each sanctioning body is independent of the others, there can be multiple champions in the same division at the same time. For example, currently in the light heavyweight division alone, there are five different champ...
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“The 1910 Jeffries-Johnson Fight and Its Impact” was by far my favorite reading from the text this semester, which is the main reason for my choosing of this topic. Throughout this article, I found it to be incredibly intriguing how detailed it was on the struggles that Johnson went through. Discussing the difficult experiences he had as a rising black athlete and then to end up with a white woman who, to many, could or could not have been considered a prostitute. All of the events during Johnson’s life make him such an amazing person and a very interesting athlete to learn more about.
Yes they might get paid handsomely but the lifelong damages it causes to the boxers are overwhelming. Life expectancy goes down even more when it comes to boxing because boxers have no head protection so if they get hit in the head it will cause severe
Ethical Rules on Sport’s Justice. Dallas: East Dallas Times, page 21. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Print: Harry, Patrick Hayes.
Original Production and ESPN films created "Shadowboxing: The Journey of the African-American Boxer” in 1999. This incredible documentary shows us how African American fighters broke
The Great Depression of the 1930’s caused widespread poverty, but the popular culture of the time did not reflect this. People wanted to escape from this harsh time so movies, dancing and sports became very popular. Radios broadcasted boxing matches and boxers became stars. The heavyweight champion James J. Braddock aka “Cinderella Man,” gained popularity. James Braddock gained fame by winning many fights and proving everyone wrong when they said he was too old and couldn’t win.
Karl Stern is an artistic, lanky, beat up, Jewish fourteen year-old boy whose only refuge is drawing cartoons for his younger sister and himself. All that changes in an instant when he meets the boxer, Max Schmeling in his father’s art gallery. In exchange for a painting, Karl will receive lessons from the world renowned fighter and national German hero. Suddenly he has a purpose: train to become a boxing legend. As the years go by and he gets stronger, both physically and emotionally, so does the hatred for the Jews in Germany. This new generation of anti-Semitism starts when Karl gets expelled from school and grows until his family is forced to live in Mr. Stern’s gallery. Though the Stern’s have never set foot into a synagogue and do not consider themselves “Jewish”, they are still subjects to this kind of anti-Semitism. They try to make the best of it, but Karl can see how much it affects his family. His mother is getting moodier by the day, his sister, Hildy, hates herself because of her dark hair and “Jewish” nose and his father is printing illegal documents for some secret buyers. On Kristallnacht the gallery is broken into and the family is torn apart. Karl must now comfort his sister and search for his injured father and his mother. With the help of some of exceptional people, he manages to get over these many obstacles and make his way to America.
Boxing became relevant in the 1920’s with America’s strong economy, American citizens had more leisure time to themselves, “to understand the boom in boxing during this period, one should picture the idea of the roaring twenties a festive time where money was in lush supply.” This sparked the construction of stadiums and gymnasiums
"By a knockout, at one minute…seconds in the second round...tonight's light and heavyweight winner...from the great state of New Jersey...the Bulldog of Bergen, James J. Braddock!" Boxing was a sport that always existed, but in the 19th century boxing became a very popular sport. It was so popular that "boxing became an Olympic sport in 1908" and in the 1930's it even "spurred the sales of radio" as it was broadcasted on them. Boxing was the "second most popular sport in the nation," the first was baseball.
Jack Dempsey was best known for his intriguing knockouts and his fists of steel (“Biography”). In his fight against Jess Willard, former champion, Dempsey knocked him down seven times within three minutes (Smith). This was the boxing match that began Dempsey’s reign as heavy weight champion of the world (Hadden 161). After the fight he earned the nick na...
The documentary, “Unforgivable Blackness” directed by Ken Burns casts light on the extraordinary life story of legendary boxer Jack Johnson. The documentary is about the barriers Jack Johnson had to overcome to satisfy his hunger for becoming the best and living “The American Dream.” Johnson had humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas and it was in those beginnings that glimpses of his bright future were slowly but surely beginning to show. Through out his life, he showed independence, relentlessness, ability to improvise, call attention to himself and get around rules meaning to tie him down. Jack Johnson was a self made man who had the drive to go forward and achieve what he wanted to achieve through hard work, patience and all the skills he was blessed with.
Muscular christianity pushes masculinity after some saw the feminization of our culture. This breeds danger in the ring, as it becomes the feminine thing to tap out of the fight. It’s not only muscular christianity that brings danger, it’s the attentiveness of the ringside doctors and referees. In the video “Death in the Ring (2014),” the video showcases Dennis Munson Jr's slow deterioration in his debut fight at the Eagles Club, but it also shows how the ringside doctor was on his phone, and how he deliberately kept the ambulance from coming for a while, as well as not administering oxygen. Even Munson’s coach was shown slapping Munson in the face before he collapsed. Overall, this shows the lack of safety in boxing, and the risk boxers take into their own
Gildea, William. "Is Boxing's Reputation Down for the Count?" Everett Herald 13 Nov. 1999: 2c.
Miller, Patrick B. Wiggins, David K. Sport and the color line: Black athletes and Race relations in Twentieth-century America. 2004. The Journal of Southern History 70 (4) (Nov 2004): 990.
Cassius Marcellus Clay was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942, during a time when Louisville was severely segregated. African-Americans were often considered the ‘servant’ class. The highest goal that many parents could realistically set for their children was clergymen or public school teacher. Cassius Clay’s father was a billboard painter and his mother worked cleaning houses. Being an African-American in poverty wasn’t easy; in fact, Clay was mistreated from birth. His mother recalls a specific incident in a convenience store when he was very young. “…He wanted a drink of water and they wouldn’t give him one because of his color. That really affected him.” Clay was eventually led into boxing as a way to deal with stress after having his bike stolen at the age of twelve. It was in the ring he would leave his legacy as an athlete, but out in the real world was where his fighting legacy would really leave a lasting impact. As an advocate for all people, Muhammad Ali was able to challeng...
They enjoy watching boxers boxing, where the two fighters are going to sustain injury and in the case of Benny Paret die after sustaining severe injuries. As explained in “Who Killed Benny Paret?” people do not like to put the blame where it needs to be or take the blame if it is their fault. “Don’t blame it on the referee. Don’t even blame it on the fight managers. Put the blame where it belongs - on the prevailing mores that regard prize fighting as a perfectly proper enterprise and vehicle of entertainment. No one doubts that many people enjoy prize fighting and will miss it if it should be thrown out. And that is precisely the point” (Cousins 341). One lesson we should all keep in mind is we should not gain our pleasure from another person’s