The Classist, Racist, and Inhumane History of Boxing
And why it remains a popular sport
Boxing is one of the few sports with the primary goal of causing harm on opponents by literally knocking them down — blood and bruises. Mainstream media commonly defines boxing as a sport of skill, strength, and cunning. Unbeknownst to many, this popular combat sport comes from a history of classism, possible racism, and inhumanity.
The bloody origins
Side B: boxers
Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the University Museums, University of Mississippi
The earliest known evidence of the emergence of boxing stretches back to the Third Millennium BCE in Mesopotamia. Not long after, Ancient Greece and Rome adopt the sport and modifies it to more violent ends. Ancient Greece introduces the sharp thongs, the dense and thick arm wraps that inflict direful damage on the opponent. Ancient Rome later develops the caestus, a battle glove inspired by the sharp thongs of Ancient Greece but filled with iron plates or fitted with blades and spikes. Aside from its savagery, caestus is also highly regarded for its brutality in gladiator games. Boxing is well-celebrated in Roman amphitheaters, and prominent Roman figures Augustus and Suetonius are just as enthusiastic about it.
Unsurprisingly, Ancient Roman boxing matches often conclude with the death of the loser, and the worst part is that most of them are unwilling participants in the first place. The brawny young boxers of Ancient Rome are far from looking to advance their athletic careers — they are mere slaves debilitated for entertainment purposes of their masters and their peers.
Boxing is a preeminent unit in the history of Ancient Rome. Nonetheless, it finds its immediate decline around 400 AD, when Emperor Theodoric the Great expresses disapproval of the deaths, disfigurements, and violence caused by the said sport.
The next round
Boxing resuscitates during the 17th century in the form of knuckle-fighting. The combat sport gains popularity as an ordinary spectacle in the capitol city of Britain and eventually the Royal Theatre. According to a few sources, Christopher Moncke, the second Duke of Albemarle, arranges a boxing match between his butler and his butcher. Since then, a continued tradition of physically exploiting the lower class for the amusement of the wealthy is reborn.
In the 1890s, U.S. guards pass on the art of Western boxing to Filipino war prisoners. They also hire Filipino men to work in kitchens of U.S. Navy ships where they hold amateur combats. In the 20th-century, American entrepreneurs Frank Churchill and the Tait brothers initiate underground boxing stints in Manila. Even before their arrival, however, Filipinos already had their version of boxing called suntukan. Suntukan is a bare-handed martial art that likely evolved from Kali, a Filipino knife-fighting technique. A salient distinction between boxing and suntukan is that the latter is not just considered a sport; but also a self-defense technique. Upon the legalization of boxing in the Philippines, Churchill and the Tait brothers successfully establish an Olympic Boxing Club in Manila. The debut of the Filipino fighters as athletes brings a monumental spectacle in the Western boxing scene, something that Ancient Rome probably misses. Journalist Don Stradley writes, “The American press of the day was fascinated by Filipino fighters, depicting them as exotic little warriors hell-bent on pleasing the audience.”
Just as boxing gains popularity in the Philippines, it instantaneously begins to crumble upon the ring deaths of known Filipino fighters. As the old saying goes, “history repeats itself.”
To punch out of poverty
Research shows that boxing has almost consistently been a sport of the working class. The 19th-century aristocrats initially promulgate boxing, but the sport considerably spread rapidly among the working class that it eventually grows revolting for the dominant class.
The popularity of boxing among the lower class stems from the fact that it is often low-cost and is easily accessible, especially in urban areas. Moreover, the sport serves as a recognized way of establishing self-respect and virility. International boxer Manny Pacquiao himself comes from poverty. He starts boxing at the early age of 12 and brings home two dollars for a win while having his uncle coach him on the side. At 16, Pacquiao registers to be a professional boxer. Underage and underweight at that time, he pretends to be older and fills his pockets for weight to meet the cut. He is neither the first nor the last, yet it is undeniable that the international recognition behind Pacquiao inspires many succeeding athletes.
Budding Filipino boxer Jeffrey Stella says, “I have to fight to help my family survive. I am just like any other boxer who dreams to save his family from poverty that’s why I’m training hard every day.” In the same way, youthful boxing and MMA patriot Joeric Calisag says that he promotes aspiring boxers in their city to help them escape the harsh realities of poverty.
Is it worth all the hype?
Ring deaths rarely occur anymore. Nevertheless, doctors believe that boxing should be prohibited due to damages that repeated blows to the head may bring. These injuries can go unnoticed at that time, yet they can cause grave problems to the boxer in later life. Research shows that there are very few professional fighters whose brains end up unharmed at the end of their careers.
Child fights are highly popular in Thailand, and there are an estimated 300,000 boxers under the age of 15 in the country. Adisak Plitponkarnpim, director of the National Institute of Child and Family Development at the University of Mahidol in Thailand, is part of a research team that conducted brain analyses on 250 child boxers. Some showed significant damage that could have an impact on brain development and intelligence levels. In line with this, medical experts call to ban the sport among minors because it can cause stunted growth, long-term neurological issues, brain damage, and disability. Moreover, Thai legislators have tried to ban boxing for children under 12 years of age, but the bill did not reach the parliament. It would also likely face resistance because of the popularity of child fighting and the income it generates.
For many people, boxing is an interminably intricate and valorous sport. During the height of Manny Pacquiao’s career, the entire Philippines billed his matches as honorary holidays. I grew up in a household that invariably subscribed to pay-per-views to watch Pacquiao, which I never understood because they air the reruns for free anyway. I remember there once being a debate about whether boxing should be banned altogether as a sport — to dare ask is blasphemous in a country that takes so much pride in the said sport. I cannot remember where I stood on the question, but I suppose I have acquired a new perspective on the matter.
Boxing is a sport closely associated with head and eye injuries. Although death does not occur in the ring, it may eventually be fatal in case of a serious enough head trauma. It is possible to take precautions, but even when the sport is highly regulated, it is still inevitable. In some regard, professional boxing romanticizes violence and the concept of becoming prosperous and well-respected through sadism and physical aggression. It generally sends the wrong message to children who want to get into sports. Writer Paul Goodman argues:
“[Boxing] is barbaric and no better than an organized physical assault, which would be illegal in any other context. The fact that the participants are taking part voluntarily is irrelevant — in some senses, boxing resembles dueling, which was a normal part of life for many years, but is now banned,”
Boxing has come so far from how it used to be; it now operates under strict regulations and is diverse. Like every other sport, there is an element of danger involved in boxing in which we have the autonomy on whether we want to partake. Saying that “boxing causes death” is like saying, “eating that bacon will kill you.” Boxing matches are a lot more civilized nowadays anyway — they no longer occur interminably until someone falls unconscious. More than its harmful effects, boxing also provides health and fitness benefits to people, such as increased alertness, better endurance, and strong upper-body and core. Somehow, I also feel like banning it altogether is classist in itself. As mentioned earlier, social class is an indicator of life opportunities and lifestyle choices, including the scope of sports participation. The upper class engages in prestigious and costly sports, while the lower class participates in prole sports. The expulsion of boxing as a sport will disallow the mass population to participate in one of the most accessible ones to them — much like generally gatekeeping sports activities to financially-abled individuals. While boxing may have its history of abuse, most if not all boxers these days go in the ring at their own free will. Many low-income households see boxing as an opportunity out of destitution, and if they think that it is the most accessible avenue they have to support their families, then who are we to stop them?
Summarily, professional and even amateur boxing possess comparable advantages and disadvantages. The fast-paced technologies we have today can make anything possible; perhaps it will soon include a safer boxing match, who knows? At the moment, to ask whether it should be banned altogether is simply a tough battle.
sources:
- “Boxing in the Ancient World.” The History of Fighting, n.d.
- Goodman, P. “Arguments For and Against Banning Boxing.” How They Play, 2020
- Hall, T. “Social Class and Sports.” The Broken Clipboard, 2016
- Kenny, Jamie. “The History Of Boxing Is Classist And Violent, And We Should Maybe Just Do Something Else Instead.” Bustle, 2015
- Miller, S. G. “Ancient Greek athletics.” New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006
- Newby, Z. “Athletics in the ancient world.” Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 2006
- “Punching out of poverty: Despite risks, 9-year-old Thai fighter eager to return to ring.” CNA, 2021
- Rodriguez, R. G., & Kimball, G. “The regulation of boxing: A history and comparative analysis of policies among American states.” Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009
- Rosal, G. G. “Boxers’ escape from poverty.” CDN, 2017
- Silverman, D. P. “Ancient Egypt” (US edition). Oxford University Press, 2003
- Stradley, D. “A look at the history of boxing in the Philippines.” ESPN, 2008
- Vivonia, M. “Boxing in the Roman Empire.” World History Encyclopedia, 2020
- Wright, E. J. “On white-collar boxing and social class.” SAGE journals, 2019
