I don’t remember many Christmas gifts from my childhood. A select few, however, stand out in my mind. One of those was my crazy-good “Rock’Em, Sock’Em Robots” Set. The joy I had that Christmas morning, tearing back the paper and seeing the photos of the Robots on the front, in their big boxing ring, duking it out, robot style. I could barely wait to get the thing out of the box. It was an incredible amount of fun for all of us, until we realized that the red robot had a glass chin. It was pretty much an automatic loss if you were the red guy. Like boxing Joe Louis, night after night.
In actuality, I’m not crazy about a sport where people punch each other. Or kick one another. If there is a fan of boxing reading this, please send me a little paragraph about why you love the sport. I’m not condemning anyone — I’d just like to know what you find alluring.
Although, technically, people hit one another with their entire bodies in sports like football. And I am a fan of that. Go figure.
If you are a fan of boxing, you are not alone. Boxing is the fourth most popular sport in America, ranking just below football, baseball, and basketball. Football at the top of the heap.
I’m only thinking about boxing because, on this date, Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) won his first world heavyweight boxing title. The bout was with Sonny Liston. After Ali put it to Sonny for six rounds, Sonny failed to come out for round seven.
We all remember Ali, I’m sure. He was born January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, and stayed on this Earth until June 3, 2016, his final round in Scottsdale, Arizona.
He had humble beginnings. His father, Cassius Clay, Sr., worked as a sign painter and his mother, Odessa, worked as a maid. They weren’t rich, but they weren’t exactly poor either.
His whole boxing deal started when Cassius was twelve years old. Someone stole his bike, and little Cassius was pretty darn angry about the fact. They reported it to the police, and he told the officer that he was going to beat up the person who stole it.
It turned out that the officer, Joe Martin, was a boxing coach. It didn’t take long before Officer Joe taught Cassius how to box. He discovered the youngster had a talent for it. Cassius fought 105 fights as an amateur fighter, winning 100 and only losing five and also winning several Gold Glove championships.
He became one of the best boxers in the history of the sport.
But boxing started long before Cassius, or Ali, or any of them. In fact, the earliest evidence of boxing dates back to Egypt around 3000 BC. I wonder if the boxers’ mummies watched.
Next, the Greeks boxed during the ancient Olympic Games in the late 7th century BC. And the sport never looked back, I suppose. When it got to Rome, the boxers started using a glove studded with metal. It became a gladiator sport. Unfortunately, boxing matches of that particular era usually ended with the death of one of the contestants. When the Roman Empire hit the skids, boxing also came to an abrupt end.
Fear not. It resurfaced in 17th century England. The organized form of boxing officially began in 1880, eventually transforming into the multi-million dollar sport that it is today.
Back to Ali. He made a darn good living in the ring. But he never fought in the most expensive match. That big fight took place between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on May 3, 2015. Floyd won by unanimous decision. His fee for winning was a whopping $120 million, while Manny received $80 million for losing the fight.
And then there is George Foreman. Sure enough, he found fame as a boxer. Heck, he was a two-time heavyweight champion. However, his grill was much more memorable. That little cooker sold over 100 million units in its first fifteen years of release. It’s estimated that he made over $250 million from his grill. This figure is much, much higher than his total career earnings as a famous boxer. He’s cooking now.
So. A little on boxing. Believe it or not, the official name of boxing is not really boxing — it’s pugilism. Pugilism means “practice and skills of fighting with fists.”
I guess boxing sounds better. Unless, of course, you are the red robot, and it never sounds good at all.
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“If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, then they can sure make something out of you.”
― Muhammad Ali
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“Take the time to train your mind.”
― Floyd Mayweather
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“In life and in a boxing ring, the defeat is not declared when you fall down. It is declared only when you refuse to get up”
― Manoj Arora, Dream On
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