Boxing as an Art

We read earlier this week, the art of cricket or cricket being an art. Is boxing an art? Can we look at boxing being an art and in addition a tool for political change in the way we saw Clive Lloyd's West Indies become in the 1980s? This post will use CLR's James' metrics for defining cricket to be an art and see if it holds true for boxing, particularly view it in the context of Ali's bout with Foreman at Zaire.

Cricket is an art because it has movement which is considered aesthetic, and that movement itself is seen captivating by the audience. When a batsman makes a stroke, the audience watches the stroke, analyzes the stroke itself, finds themselves captivated by it. The same way you might consider the way that the musician puts to use their vocal cords and stand in awe, a similar phenomenon holds true for cricket. I will not discuss how true or valid this claim is, I will use this claim in the field of boxing.

There is a good level of discussion on way Ali and Foreman fought in the ring in their bout. How each fighter moved their body in making contact with the other or defending against another's attack. There is a great deal of focus on how exactly you move, which creates fan interest in boxing and in the match itself, this perhaps puts it on par with James' understanding of cricket. There is additional nuance that James' brings to his thesis, he claims that blows in boxing are too fast and instant to be of such artistic value like that in cricket. Here one must disagree even if he may have been true. With the presence of modern technology, slow-motion feeds, replays and what not, that barrier of not being able to see a very fast punch ceases to exist - that barrier also existed in cricket, it is surely difficult to follow a fast bowler's delivery throughout the journey with the naked eye.

Finally, is Ali's journey comparable to that of Lloyd and his men? It is similar in a way that everyone expects you to no be successful because the odds are stacked against you. Ali coming back from a ban, being much older to a younger and stronger Foreman. Lloyd and his men not having great facilities at home, all from different nations and playing a game which is not considered to be theirs. But only in that regard. The audience is much different, the West Indies had to prove to the colonizers and the world that they can play, Ali had already proven to the world he was worthy. When Ali dared to challenge the draft, he was the best boxer in the world, he inspired many but it was an act unlike that of Micheal Holding daring to bowl fast and bounce out the English team. Ali's fight in Zaire was not against a white man, it was against a black man. He had to prove it to the world and he is still the best and can box, he no longer had to prove that a black man can do it - the world already knew that.