Why I Love Boxing

By James Rall

28.08.01 - "Why do you like boxing?" is a question I am always asked by people who just can't understand the sport. Most people see boxing, not as a sport, but as two brutes in a ring trying to hurt each other. They think I must like boxing because of the blood and because the combat brings me to that primitive place in my soul.

Recently a friend was teasing me about boxing. "Oh, hit me, please. It makes me feel like a man." She is under the assumption that I only like boxing because hitting someone and getting hit will verify to me that I am a real man. She could not be more wrong.

The truth of the matter is - I love boxing, but for all the right reasons. Boxing is the closest that any sport comes to purity. It is the sport that all others aspire to. It's a reflection of life. It has all the nasty things we experience in life like greed and
hate, dishonesty and corruption, pain and failure. But it also has all the good that life has to offer: pride and grace, honor and nobility, honesty and pure pleasure. No other sport can come close to making this claim.

Why do I love boxing? I love boxing because of the self-disciple. Boxing is a sport of constant training of both the body and mind. If you miss a workout it will show in the ring. If you skip your roadwork it will show in the ring. If you spend your time drinking and carousing it will show in the ring. It is a sport of dedication. A sport where you can't cut corners or you will fail. Unlike team sports, where if you slack off a little a team member can help you out, in boxing there is no one else to depend on but yourself. Your corner can give you instructions, but you have to execute them. Your manager can set up fights, but you have to win them.

A fighter can be in perfect shape. His skills can be sharp as a razor, his reflexes can be honed like a jungle cat, but if his mind is not strong his body will fail. In no other sport is mental strength so important. You have the build-up to the fight, the press conferences and the weigh-in. During these times the fighter works to brow beat and intimidate his foe. The battle has already begun and the bell for round one has not even rung.

On the day of the fight is the walk-ins and the introductions, but the true test of mental toughness comes when the two fighters have to step up to one another in the center of the ring. While the referee gives the instructions the two combatants stare each other down, looking for any sign of weakness. How many fights have been won during the stare down?

Why do I love boxing? I love boxing because of the unpredictability. In no other sport can a person or team be losing badly and then, a second later, be victorious. In football, if a team is losing by three scores, they need four scores to win. In boxing, if a man is losing nine rounds he needs only one punch, a knockout, to win. The old saying "You won the battle, but I'll win the war," has never been truer then in the boxing ring. How can I explain the excitement of watching a fighter who is losing badly on the scorecard deliver one punch to the sweet spot to end the fight? What other sport can deliver that kind of drama?

Why do I love boxing? I love boxing because of the feeling and rush it gives you. Is there any greater feeling in the world then to step between the ropes and into the ring? You feel the lights on your face and your ears buzz from the reaction of the crowd. You stomach twists in fear and you feel nervous energy as you get ready for combat. You look across the ring to see the only person that stands between you and victory. You have to test your strength against that person. You must test his skills, his intelligence and his endurance. You have to test his heart. Do you want it more and have you trained enough to get it? Your only salvation is one minute after every round. Can a person every feel more alive then when they are in the ring? Is there any joy greater then the taste of victory? Is there anything more bitter then defeat?

Why do I love boxing? I love boxing because of the struggle to be the best. Many casual fans of the sport only enjoy the fights when there is a lot of give and take. If they don't see knockdowns they feel as if they didn't get their moneys worth. But to me it is everything that comes before the punch. It's the skill and coordination. It's the focus and stamina. It's the footwork that puts the fighter into position to deliver a combination or cut off the ring. Or the way a fighter feints and moves out of trouble. It's seeing a fighter against the ropes ducking punches while moving only inches to get out of the way. The slips, bumps and pushes, the distance, range and crowding of the boxers is like a dance. It's poetry in motion. It is art at its highest form. It's the sweet science. It's watching two professionals with a true understanding of the trade putting on a show.

Why do I love boxing? As important as skills and understanding of the profession are to a fighter you can never underestimate heart and desire. Boxing is about giving everything you have despite the consequences. It's about determination, durability and power. It's about reaching deep inside yourself and finding out what type of person you really are. A person can never really know what type of person they are until they have been tested and boxing provides that test. In the ring, when things are going badly, is when you really discover who you are and what you are about. Fighters are the most special of people. They understand that it's there job to get into a ring and fight another person, but they also understand that it's a time of self-discovery.

Why do I love boxing? I love boxing most of all because boxing, like life, is an individual sport. A person goes through life with the support of friends and family, sponsors and their career, but, ultimately, it is up to the individual to fail or succeed. The same is true of the boxer. A fighter has a trainer to teach him how to move, punch and fight. He has a manager to get him fights and advance his career. He has a promoter to expose him to the public so that he can make money. But it is the job of the fighter to put his fears aside, step into the ring, and prove himself. Talent, skills, luck and knowing the right people are great, but heart and passion are essential to succeeding in life, as well as in the ring. Life is an individual sport and no other sport mirrors life quite like boxing.

And that's why I love boxing.