So Boxing Is The Sport Of Desperation Or Mma Has Replace It Now, Or Both Are Sports Of Desperation?
I watch boxing,Kick Boxing in which i competed,combat sports in general, from a very young age!
I think i have enough knowledge to think that all of them and specially boxing,MMA,Kick boxing as K-1 events, are the true sports of desperation!Why do i say this?I have some thoughts and i would like to Analise my thoughts and see yours on the subject!
1)I have study a lot of boxing books and i would say based on my knowledge, from Ancient Greek era and Roman times until even today the year of 2009, the big names/champions and stars of the sport of boxing or Pankration (today’s MMA) were the lowest class of Ancient Greece and Rome’s society(Gladiators who were slaves basically specially in Rome),in modern boxing from 1885 until today the poorest and ghetto people have always dominate boxing as (no offense to anyone just state historical facts here) Irish in the late 19th century,Jews,Italians,African-Americans,… and Mexicans,Eastern Europeans and Asians from poor background with Manny being a prime example!
I mean some of these races have abandon boxing for other sports or other fields of society ages now with African-Americans being a prime example of today!
In kick boxing that is my field all i have seen is the poorest Greeks who were immigrants becoming world champions,some dutch men from very poor background,E.Euros who are the poorest of whole Europe (No offense but i am afraid this is how it is guys) etc etc same goes for MMA and Russians,Brazilians ,rednecks from USA etc etc!
Some people say a fighter is born and can’t become during life,I WILL STRONGLY DISAGREE,but every opinion is welcome!
2)If you can do sports which are in fact higher paid as far as i know in big numbers of athletes,because truth is there are THOUSAND of boxers but how many make big money?VERY FEW!
Now soccer players,golf players,tennis players,Formula-1 drivers,basketball players etc etc make a lot of money and not few of them ,A LOT OF THEM,i mean the most ordinary soccer player in Europe makes at least 2 million $ per year!
So Boxing ,MMA , Kick boxing is for the athletes who failed to do a better sport or am i wrong?
3)Last question,i consider as i said my knowledge good but not perfect of course so i will admit in my knowledge I DO NOT KNOW one boxer,MMA fighter or kick boxer (I dare to say i am 100% sure for kick boxers) who is from a rich family,does anyone do know any?If yes enlighten me and tell me who because i admit i do not know ONE!
So is our sport,MMA and the rest brutal combat sports for desperate people with no other choices in life?If not how my observations seem to be so correct (i think so at least)
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February 26th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
When you are poor, you will do pretty much anything to take yourself and sometimes your family out of the ghetto/barrio.
If all you know how to do is fight, you become a boxer or an MMA fighter. Pipino Cuevas is a prime example. He was a loner as a child and got into plenty of fights in school. He couldn’t do anything else but fight. His dad, not pleased at hearing of the young Pipino’s troubles with others, took Pipino to a gym to channel that passion for fighting into a career. He went on to win the WBA welterweight title and defend it 11 times. He used the money to operate butcher shops and security firms in his native Mexico.
Boxing at times can be seen as the act of a guy going to desperate measures. Some choose this sport because often they can’t do well in other avenues in life. My idol, the great Roberto Duran, chose this sport because he knew he was a great fighter and that one day, he would be very, very rich. Problem was, that was all he knew how to do, which is why he fought for 33 years. He lives comfortably now, and thankfully is not punch drunk.
Some, like Terry McGovern, do it because they love beating people up.
Some do it for the love of the sport and want to be challenged.
Juan Diaz, the former lightweight champion, has used the money he has earned from the sport to get his law degree so that once he’s done with his career in the ring, he has something lucrative to fall back on.
It depends on the person.
Great question, Chevalier.
February 26th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
in September the mayweather-marquez did 1million PPV buys
in November the Pac-Cotto fight did 2 million PPV buys
boxing is alive and well my friend
February 27th, 2010 at 12:01 am
Sports of desperation, is an interesting phrase. I think adversity makes people either very hopeless or very hungry, and which one is determined by the mettle of the individual.
February 27th, 2010 at 12:48 am
I agree. Physically fighting for a living is not to be taken lightly and is probably only pursued as a career by those whose other options have been exhausted. You are correct that most boxers come from poor backgrounds and families. Fighters are a breed apart, they have a level of toughness, resiliency and gutsy determination alien to those who were brought up comfortable, safe and protected. It’s why fighters come from the deprived inner city rather than the leafy commuter suburbs. Opportunity is not equal, and fighters fight as a consequence of the lack of it.
On a side note, I think Marco Antonio Barrera was brought up in a middle class Mexico city family, although I’m not entirely sure on what is classed as “middle class” in that part of the world. Derek Chrisora (a British boxer) was born into a rich family, I think his family even had waiters! There are exceptions to the “rule” and fighters have come from less desperate backgrounds. Poverty isn’t the only factor that determines a fighter, it’s also the trials and tribulations that a person goes through from an early age that play a big role as well.
February 27th, 2010 at 6:51 am
Hey bro,
With the exception of children raised by millionaire boxers like Julio Cesar Chavez raising Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in a mansion in Mexico, most boxers came from poor or archetypal backgrounds.
This may have some truth to it, because boxing is often seen as an escape from the harships of life and a sport to take one’s life away from a tough environment that surrounds them. When poverty and hopelessness becomes rampant, people find ways to solute their problems to other means and methods to psychologically delienate themselves from their surroundings.
Moreover, combat sport is often embraced by the lower class indviduals as it is socially acceptable as a product of social norms, especially in lower class miliues. For the upper and middle class, parents often raise their children to become more academically capable and get an education rather than concentrate in a physical activity. Indeed, there is also a social product that manifest a phenomena of an independent materilaiztaion of human behavior through the incorporated facets of social structure.
People’s experiences, existential philosophies, and multifaceted behaviors are spawned by attributes provided by the influences of their environments. Hence, in a historical variation, you made a valid point on how combat sports is often intertwined more within the lower class individuals (SES) than say within the middle or upper class environments.
February 27th, 2010 at 11:52 am
in September the mayweather-marquez did 1million PPV buys
in November the Pac-Cotto fight did 1.25 million PPV buys
wheres the desperation?
February 27th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
well i like boxing better its more exciting. ufc was better wen it was just like street fiting.