I just finished watching a live boxing match.
28-year-old Santillan (26-0, 15 KOs) was a 5-1 favorite over 34-year-old DeMarco (33-9-1, 24 KOs)...but he barely pulled off a victory over the older boxer (95-95, 96-94, and 96-94...and the announcers definitely disagreed with that decision, as both of them had claimed victory for DeMarco).
It was a good match. To my untutored eye, DeMarco seemed in control most of the time. In fact, I thought that he controlled the pace of the fight, controlled positioning in the ring, and regularly dropped his hands and invited Santillan to have a go at him. Not so much in a taunting way, I don't think...but there was definitely the confidence of a strong man behind his stance.
One of the non-punching things that struck me...and which I don't remember seeing before...is that the boxers regularly touched gloves after they parted at the bell ending each round. It just seemed exceedingly polite, you know? They were both quite conciliatory towards each other after the fight ended, too...though I got the distinct impression that both of them thought that they had won, so maybe that was a part of the equation. But no second guessing here: these two guys showed great sportsmanship, and that's something I am not used to seeing in the world of professional sports these days.
Of course, I was pulling for "the old guy." He handled the defeat gracefully, though...in fact, he barely indicated disappointment at all. It made me wonder what kind of guy he is when he's not in a boxing ring, you know?
Speaking of which...I certainly understand why some people think that boxing is a barbaric sport. It's the only sport in which the goal is to inflict physical damage on your opponent...ideally to knock him unconscious. Not that that doesn't happen in other sports, of course...but it's not the goal. Not even in wrestling. So for sure on that count it qualifies as barbaric. I probably hadn't watched more than a handful of boxing matches on television (and never live) until a few years ago. But in the last couple of years I've felt myself drawn to it more and more...and especially since the Covid-19 Lockdown. There's something exceedingly honest about it all, you know? I mean, in football you hear stories about people intentionally trying to hurt other players on the sly (remember the bounty stuff with the Saints from a few years back?)...in baseball there's intentionally hitting batters with the ball, spiking basemen as the runner slides in...you know? It's all sneaky shit. In boxing, it's all right there. And if you hit below the belt or try something dirty, you get penalized. So yeah, there is a certain honesty to it.
Boxing also makes for some great movies, doesn't it? Let's see...
Rocky...maybe Rocky II...Cinderella Man...The Hurricane ...Requiem for a Heavyweight (two of them)...Million Dollar Baby
...When We Were Kings...Hard Times (the James Bronson one)...
Raging Bull...The Boxer. Did I miss any? Maybe Southpaw. Yeah, for me that'd be in there. Are there that many great baseball movies? (I know there aren't that many great football, basketball, soccer, or ice hockey movies.) And if you're with me on that...why is it that boxing lends itself to great movie making? There's something to it, for sure.
ANYway...gotta go. Got some more boxing matches to watch on my dvr. And I might need to see if I can find Somebody Up There Likes Me. Haven't seen it yet, but I've heard good things....
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