Tell us a novel thought about boxing history that we haven't heard before

Joe Louis had come out of retirement to fight Rocky Marciano the minute he was 76 years old. Joe Louis was always lying about his age. He lied about his age all the time. One time Frank Sinatra came in here and sat in this chair. I said Frank 'you hang out with Joe Louis, just between me and you, how old is Joe Louis?' You know what Frank told me, he said "Hey, Joe Louis is 137 years old." A hundred and thirty-seven years old!

 

Boxing should be banned, the spectacle of two young men in a roped circle trying their hardest to render each other unconscious is, when looked at more closely, nothing short of barbaric, there is no justification on any humane level, it harks back to the gladiatorial battles of the roman empire.
I know all the push backs " all sports are dangerous " and " It's what they chose " and "more people die at..... " I get all the standard defence of boxing, but the fact remains, boxing ( or all combat " sports " ) have the same aim, to hit and hurt your opponent, no arguments please.
For the record, I have followed boxing for over 50 years, and must have seen 1,000s of fights in that time, and have to be honest and say I enjoyed the journey, but somewhere, in a small enclave of my mind, i felt that it wasn't right, in a civilised world ( if it may be called as such ) there shouldn't be a place for men ( and now women god forbid ) fighting one and other for a baying/and paying crowd.
Since I signed up for this site, which has broadened my boxing mind, and I hope in my own small way enlightened and entertained fellow posters, I made a vow to myself, to be polite, courteous, and above all honest, to myself and to this community, the above is testament to that.
stay safe guys.

 

Some royalty used to practice boxing. More recently, Prince Philip himself was a huge fan.

 

While all combat sports are dangerous, I think the ones focusing almost exclusively on striking, like boxing, are the most dangerous. MMA guys probably end up with thrashed joints/cartilage/ligaments at the end of a career, but I doubt they have the same prevalence of CTE.

But dammit, boxing (or kickboxing or muy thai) is so much more entertaining than MMA.

 

I agree. I used to like to watch live fights either in person or on the screen, but over the years I have given that pastime up. I quit following boxing in real time for the most part in the 1980s. I haven't seen a heavyweight title fight I think since Tyson-Holyfield II except for one of Lennox Lewis' last defenses. Instead, I watch the old films, read and write about the history of the sport and study the technique of mostly pre-1970 fighters on the old films and kinescopes. That way I figure I'm not contributing to the sport's present-day economy or receiving a cheap thrill in watching someone get beat up in real time. It's sort of a compromise that I've made with myself. I don't enjoy watching anybody taking a real-live beating any more, if I ever did. I've known five old-time professional fighters well enough to call them good friends and I've interviewed others, and they all to one degree or another have displayed permanent injuries which showed up when they got older. Why would I want to wish that on any more of my friends?

 

There's a deep correlation between boxers and serial killers.

 

On Feb 11 1990, a man in a Mike Tyson Halloween costume enters the ring. He goes thru the usual intimidation theatrics, even kills the television audience with his sinister stare with a small sneer with the gold tooth visible. In the opposite corner is a man that has already convinced himself that he was going to beat Mike Tyson because he's had some rather unfortunate situations occur in his life. That opponent by the name of James Buster Douglas looks at his script written by none other than Muhammad Ali in 1964 on how to beat a monster of a man. Douglas comes out and follows that playbook to the T. Tyson after a few uneventful rounds tells his cornerman who is impersonating Kevin Rooney: I Know That I Am Out Of My Fighting Prime At Age 23, But this Is Ridiculous, a Groucho Marx moustache and glasses appears on Tyson. Then Douglas begins to stick and move, he looks very closely at the referee, it was Octavio Meyran when the fight started, instead he has turned into Barney Felix from the Feb 1964 title bout between Ali and Sonny Liston. As Tyson sits down in the corner before round 10, he looks at his cornerman who is Sonny Liston, The Big Ugly Bear, who tells Tyson here is some Monsel Solution to use on that Clay (Ali) imposter. Tyson in total shock tries to nail Douglas with an open saturated glove that contains Monsel Solution, but Douglas begins to unload on Tyson, who crashes to the canvas. As he is attempting to arrive, Pugguys parrot named Naughty Polly, who makes a makes an unexpected comeback, lets go of one of her ripe Torpedoes that explodes on the canvas, Tyson slips on the matter from Polly, looking for his mouthpiece, and falls backwards. In comes the President Of The Motion Picture Association and presents the Oscar to Tyson for best supporting actor in an action film. Tyson takes a bow with Naughty Polly on his shoulder. But But, the oscar has been taken away from Tyson because a futuristic poster will post that another Tyson could have have squashed him because he uses modern (steroids) nutrition, and he is the better Tyson.

 

For most ATGs, there's another fighter of equal potential who got tripped up along the way. Sometimes the latter on their best night was better than the ATG ever was. And not just "Tokyo Douglas." The list is endless and a lot of the guys are total nonames.

 

Aw man. You ain’t never meet no Frank Sinatra.

 

All the submissions have been great - just want to highlight these very honest thoughts expressed by two quality and well experienced members.

 

Appreciate your nice compliment Pugguy, I wasn't sure how my post would be received by my esteemed peers, but I spoke from the heart, it wasn't easy, but I felt that it needed to be out there, with such support and kindness shown, it makes the writing of it all the prescient, thanks again buddy, chat soon.

 

I agree with part of what you said. I do not agree with your conclusion (stated in your first 3 words). I appreciate your honesty and courage in posting that here. And I, also, try to be "polite, courteous, and above all honest..." And I believe women have the right to compete in combat sports. Thank you for your honest post, sir.

 

I would probably do something about the life of a fighter who never became a champion but had an ok career and the book would be split between his boxing career and other components of his life