Chapter 13: The Sweet Science There is no justification for boxing. It is a cruel, savage sport in which men try to inflict hurt and injury on others. In a perfect world there would be no place for boxing. This isn't a perfect world, however, and there is a fascination about ring spectacles. It is not irrelevant, either, that boxing has always provided a chance for riches and glory for people at the bottom of the economic ladded. The Irish, the Jews, and the Italians preceded the blacks, hispanics and asians in dominating boxing. Some of the best writers outside the sporting precincts — A.J. Liebling, Budd Schulberg, George Bernard Shaw, Jack London, even Ernest Hemingway — were fascinated by boxing. Of all the great sports events, inevitably the most exciting, the most pulsating are big championship bouts, usually among the heavyweights. The only time I have been nervous before a sports event has been in the moments before the opening bell of a heavyweight championship bout.
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Keep punching, son. |
