Blood sweat and tears. I know the term sounds clichéd but never has it been more appropriate than in the sport of boxing. The sacrifice and determination that is required to have success in this sport is unmatched throughout all other sports. In the National Football League you have a second and third string of players; same for Baseball, Basketball, Soccer and Hockey. If a player sprains his ankle, gets a concussion, breaks a finger or gets dirt in his eye, he’s able to walk off the field and the next man in line steps in. The game goes on. If a professional fighter suffers the same effects, he has to fight through it or he loses. And boxing is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately sport built on momentum; a loss could set your career back years.

A former great fighter, James “lights-out” Toney once summed it up pretty clearly when he said. “You can play Football, Baseball and Basketball, but you can not PLAY fighting.”

Like we discussed in class last Tuesday, language has its limitations. My point is best made with the following video clip. It is a Light-Weight world title fight between the late Diego Corrales (tall, thin and tattooed) and Jose Luis Castillo. Keep in mind that for the previous 9 rounds, these two dealt one of the most horrific beatings in recent memory to each other. So much so that it was awarded the title of “Fight of the Decade” by Ring magazine.

Also, I’m not a deeply religious person, but I got chills when Corrales crossed his chest as he walked out of his corner.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=imZaiGJgbsw