This is the second part of a three-part deep dive by Ruth Raper. You can find the first part here.
ONE important thing that a boxer must have in order to reach the top is marketing. Marketing is what a manager and promoter will focus on when considering signing a boxer. Traits like charisma and personality make a boxer highly marketable. These qualities make the boxer stand out in the community and thus able to build a strong following.
Promoters often encourage boxers to tell their ‘story’ to the public. This allows them to create a narrative around their work and engage with the community on a deeper level. All of these components help build a brand, which all boxers should strive to do if they wish to secure lucrative promotional deals and brand relationships.
Oscar De La Hoya is famous for his mother passing away a few weeks before the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he successfully achieved his dream of becoming an Olympic champion. This inspirational story, along with his pop star good looks, helped turn him into ‘The Golden Boy’.
Oscar De La Hoya
De La Hoya landed numerous brand deals, including one with McDonald’s in 1999, and became one of boxing’s biggest stars throughout the ’90s and 2000s. Obviously, none of De La Hoya’s success would have been possible without his skill and dedication, but there is no doubt that his marketing helped him rise to boxing royalty.
Arguably the most important attribute a fighter must have when it comes to being a boxer is knockout power (which is why heavyweights are more appealing to the audience than flyweights).
There is something strong in humans that leads us to seek cruelty, and what is more cruel than knocking? To see the legs cross, the lights go out for a moment, and in that moment, everything freezes in time. That is what many hope to see when they sing for ‘the great war’. When a fighter can knock out his opponents with one punch, he goes from being a boxer to something completely different. They become property.
The best example of this is Mike Tyson. Tyson boasts a record of 58 fights and 50 wins, 44 of those wins coming inside the distance. His uncanny ability to leave his opponents unconscious has earned him the nickname ‘The KO Kid’ and ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’.
LAS VEGAS, UNITED STATES: Mike Tyson (L) of the US knocks out Bruce Seldon, of the United States, in the first round of their WBA Heavyweight Championship fight on September 7 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tyson won by TKO in the first round. AFP PHOTO Jeff HAYNES/jh (Photo credit should read JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images)
Tyson’s all-black shorts and boots, along with his dangerous glares and angry interactions, made him one of the most infamous figures of the 90s. Spectators would watch Tyson’s fights by the millions (even if they had to wake up at 4 in the morning) to witness a painful KO. The truth is that Tyson’s aura struck fear into the hearts of his competitors until he beat them before they entered the ring.
If you don’t have that one-punch power (and not many people do), you can be sure that planting your feet and ripping the old is the next best thing when it comes to attracting a bloodthirsty audience. .
Arturo Gatti won the hearts of millions by refusing to back down and leaving everything behind in the ring leading to some of the most famous fights of our time. There have been many highly skilled boxers labeled as ‘boring’ by the general public, in doing so they have failed to reach the level of fame their skill deserves (I hope this doesn’t happen with Shakur Stevenson).
A method that is rarely used in the eyes of the public has an impact on culture. In the category of (small) household name boxers, there is a very small category of established boxers.
These fighters represent more than just the sport or the brand of company they are associated with; they represent people, and that is because they represent people. These worshiped warriors often give voice to the voiceless in times of crisis (usually political), sometimes even putting their careers on the line while standing up for what they believe is right.
Two fights that come to mind are Muhammad Ali and Barry McGuigan. In 1967, when Ali was inducted into the US Army, he refused to step forward when his name was called. He was warned that he was committing an offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Ali was called again, but again he refused to back down. He was later arrested. The next day, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended Ali’s boxing license, and the WBA stripped Ali of his world title. After this, it took Ali three years to get a license to box again in the USA.
Ali’s stance on the Vietnam War resonated with many around the world. He famously asked, “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on black people in Vietnam, while the so-called negroes in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied basic human rights.” ?”. Ali’s refusal to bow to white space transformed him from athlete to cultural icon, ‘The Great One’ in and out of the ring.
During one of the most divisive and violent times in Irish history, one boxer chose to fight for peace. During the 1980s, a war-ridden period known as ‘The Troubles,’ Barry McGuigan refused to cause further conflict and made it clear that he would not choose one side over the other.
McGuigan said, “I knew exactly how serious things were. I put in a lot of effort. I will not do that, I will not wear colors that will divide people, I will not sing hymns that will separate you in some way”.
Instead of having Amhrán na bhFiann (a Republican song) or God Save The Queen (a Unionist song) playing as he entered the ring, he had his father sing Danny Boy, which he said was “everyone’s song”. The phrase “leave the fight to McGuigan” was coined and the issue would stop in the week leading up to McGuigan’s fights.
There is no doubt that McGuigan’s choice to remain neutral puts his safety at risk; However, there is also no doubt that McGuigan’s choice gave his country a much-needed respite during a war in which more than 3,500 lives were lost.
Each of McGuigan’s fights was more than an opportunity to witness ‘Cyclone of the Clones’ land a series of perfectly accurate punches or to pull you out with a flick of his head. It showed our brothers and sisters in Northern Ireland and the world that unity and peace were possible.
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