IN HER magisterial work, Boxing: A Cultural History, Kasia Boddy asserts the following: “At its most cooked, boxing remains raw; at its most bloody, it can still tell a story. Although, as Sonny Liston pointed out, it’s always the same story — the good guy versus the bad guy — new versions of good and bad are forever forthcoming. Throughout its long and eventful history as a sport, boxing has remained unfailingly eloquent. At the beginning of the 21st century, our appetite for its stories remains undiminished.’
As we head into the start of the second decade of the century, Kasia Boddy’s contention remains both salient and profound in its insight into this most controversial and dramatic of sports. Because what cannot be gainsaid is the fact that, worldwide, boxing is currently riding the crest of an incredibly and outrageously lucrative wave — what with the gargantuan revenue and pay-per-view (PPV) buys the sport is now garnering on a regular basis.
The recent Anthony Joshua v Andy Ruiz Jnr rematch in Saudi Arabia is a case in point. In what was tantamount to a festival of vulgarity and the sportswashing of a brutal kleptocratic regime, this much anticipated bout generated 1.6 million PPV buys, which at £24.95 a head translates into a mountain of cash. And this is without factoring in the $40 million-plus site fee the Saudis weighed in with for the luxury of hosting the fight, or the advertising revenue and various other revenue streams that are attached to such events nowadays.
When Patterson and Liston met in the ring in 1962, it was more than a title bout — it was a collision of two black archetypes shaped by white America’s fears and fantasies, writes JOHN WIGHT
JOHN WIGHT tells the riveting story of one of the most controversial fights in the history of boxing and how, ultimately, Ali and Liston were controlled by others
JOHN WIGHT previews the much-anticipated bout between Benn and Eubank Jnr where — unlike the fights between their fathers — spectacle has reigned over substance
