Is The Writing Style of The Age Responsible For a Fighter's Ranking?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by salsanchezfan, Dec 31, 2013.


  1. salsanchezfan

    salsanchezfan Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    By this I mean, does the style of writing in a given age via newspapers, magazines, and now websites affect the ATG standing of various fighters?

    It's so strange to look back now on the super-hyperbolic writing we used to see around the turn of the 19th-20th centuries and beyond, where newspapers didn't write merely to inform. Papers, like hand-written letters of the day, were also meant as expressions of the writer's artistic abilities. They weren't mere correspondence as an email is today. Writing style and flair was considered as much a part of the job as telling the news. Every writer had his own style that you associated him with, like authors of great novels. Journalism as art, you might say.

    This trend continued with some watering down well into the 50's and 60's, getting more and more informal and de-stylized all the time until we have what we see now.

    Given this, is it possible that great fighters of yesteryear are somewhat puffed up in the ATG rankings of many people because of the flowery, overdone descriptions in the writings of the time? How literally does one take it? How literally should they?
     
    salsanchezfan, Dec 31, 2013
    salsanchezfan, Dec 31, 2013
    #1
  2. DaveK

    DaveK Vicious & Malicious Full Member

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    I enjoy the style of writing in times past, but I don't think I would blame the style iteslf; the lack of objectivity and era bias, sometimes racial bias, and the mentality of the era is to blame for this.

    The contemporaries of these fighters that wrote about them had a lot wrapped up in their heroes.

    For example, Jack Johnson's KO over Burns (?) when the recording was stopped right before the end because they couldn't let a white man be KO'd by a black man is a great example of a bias that hopes to steer public opinion.

    Its human nature to believe or want to believe your era is the best or that a fighter or fighters from your era are among the best. Much like in any education; people think they got the best education or they had the finest teachers, etc, even though that may not be the case.
     
    DaveK, Dec 31, 2013
    DaveK, Dec 31, 2013
    #2
  3. Dr Prizefight

    Dr Prizefight Academic Full Member

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    There is much to admire about the flamboyantly descriptive prizefight commentaries of Pierce Egan. But, it also has to be conceded that he had favourite fighters upon whom he lavished extravagant praise, despite Egan's claims for constant 'IMPARTIALITY'.
    Similarly, he almost undoubtedly embellished accounts of contests as much of the action was obviously tedious or uneventful. So, exaggeration was understandable and, arguably, necessary to generate sales.
    See: Writing the Prizefight: Pierce Egan's Boxiana World (2013).
     
    Dr Prizefight, Feb 25, 2014
    Dr Prizefight, Feb 25, 2014
    #3
  4. Mendoza

    Mendoza Hrgovic = Next Heavyweight champion of the world. banned Full Member

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    This is a tough question. It depends on the writer. I have found that most news reports of the 1900-1920's pretty much reflect the films of the times.
     
    Mendoza, Feb 25, 2014
    Mendoza, Feb 25, 2014
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  5. mattdonnellon

    mattdonnellon Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I think Salsanchezfan has a good point. I'm reading up a lot on the turn of the century(C19-C20) fighters at present and I find that reference to a jab doesn't mean what it does to-day for example, ditto for clinching, fighting for wind etc. Certainly it could give a skewed view of a fighters style.
     
    mattdonnellon, Feb 25, 2014
    mattdonnellon, Feb 25, 2014
    #5