Does american football unavoidably lead to brain damage over time? Does a culture favoring perseverance at the expense of well being begin in high school?
posted by phrontist on Oct 13, 2009 - 96 comments

In the 1860's, Abe Grady emigrated to Kentucky from Ennis, Ireland, and married a freed slave. Yesterday, one of their great-grandchildren paid a visit to Ennis. Muhammad Ali met his cousins, and was named an honorary freeman of Ennis. [more inside]
posted by Zed on Sep 2, 2009 - 10 comments

"For a long time it has been a kind of martial arts Loch Ness monster: an American fighting form with supposedly sinister origins that many have heard of but few have seen or experienced. No one, it seemed, had any concrete proof that it existed, or at least none they were willing to share. Until (2:36) recently." Longer (5:19) ver here [more inside]
posted by P.o.B. on Jun 25, 2009 - 68 comments

Female Single Combat Club [nsfw]. An extensive site about women fighters around the world and in history. In English and Russian. Previously.
posted by nickyskye on Aug 27, 2008 - 27 comments

Two slimes. One circle. Infinite addiction. Welcome to the world of Slimeball. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Aug 8, 2008 - 16 comments

Sick and tired of sitting at home, eating a pint of ice cream, watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians and wondering why you can't have the success that Kim Kardashian has had? Have you always wondered if you could take her in a fight? Do you need to prove that your butt can take her butt? Well, now you can. [more inside]
posted by Stynxno on Aug 7, 2008 - 53 comments

Canadian writer Craig Davidson is pretty intense (read mad) when it comes to research and promoting his work, entering into an officially sanctioned boxing match to promote The Fighter. But even he thinks he went a bit too far when he went on a full 'steroid cycle'.
posted by fearfulsymmetry on May 19, 2008 - 58 comments

Dambe is a form of boxing associated with the Hausa people of the Saharan regions of West Africa. It is essentially a striking art. The primary weapon is the strong-side fist. Known as the spear, it is wrapped in a piece of cloth covered by tightly knotted cord. The lead hand, called the shield, is held with the open palm facing toward the opponent. The lead hand can be used to grab or hold as required. Officials generally discourage the use of magical protection on the grounds of fairness.
posted by hob on Nov 6, 2007 - 7 comments

Forgive Some Sinner. "With age 70 bearing down hard upon him, Dad had by then written for better than 40 years, during which he had become celebrated, later disgraced, and I would like to think ultimately redeemed... Good as some of his old stories are, it always seemed to me that his own was better than any of them; I only wish he had written it himself." Mark Kram Jr. examines his late father's complicated legacy.
posted by amyms on Oct 27, 2007 - 9 comments

If you like boxing (or "Rocky") you might enjoy this youtube video of the Arturo Gatti - Mickey Ward fights recut to resemble Rocky II. [more inside]
posted by dersins on Oct 25, 2007 - 10 comments

Remember when Uwe Boll challenged his critics in the boxing ring? Some of them accepted and the event went down on September 23rd. One of the challengers was Lowtax, who had some fun with it.
posted by bob sarabia on Sep 24, 2006 - 40 comments

You Asked For It. So you want to learn to fight? Train wisely. Here is how you do it. And here is how you do not. (Some video footage may be NSFW due violent fight footage. No fatalities.)
posted by tkchrist on Aug 31, 2006 - 71 comments

Stanley Kubrick's "lost" first movie, Day of The Fight, has apparently been found. Assuming it's real, this 16-minute 1951 reel is the director's debut. Sadly, unless you're a fight fan, that's about all it has to recommend it.
posted by The Bellman on Jun 29, 2006 - 16 comments

Harry Reid accepted free boxing tickets from the Nevada Athletic Commission says John Solomon of the AP. Solomon implies that Reid might have gotten himself into an ethical dilemma as the NAC opposes the creation of a federal boxing commission, something the Senate was considering at the time. The article also tosses in some digs at Reid by repeating the claim that Reid is involved in the Abramoff scandal.

However, Media Matters points out that Reid did not act in the NAC's favor and instead allowed the passage of legislation that would create a federal commission, in opposition to the giftgiver's wishes. This is not the first time Solomon has attacked Reid. Politics/News-filter
posted by papakwanz on May 31, 2006 - 34 comments

What have you told your children about Muhammad Ali? "I was frequently left with tingling all over because I had been in the presence of such a great man and still humbled by his compassion, tolerance and understanding." Inspired by this weekend's airing by ESPN Classic of most of Tyson's fights, I started thinking about the difference between these two men. Ali obviously transcended his sport and has become more than just a boxer while Tyson is clearly a lost and troubled soul. And yet Tyson's story still inspires reflection. Nietzche's statement that "What someone is, begins to be revealed when his talent abates, when he stops showing us what he can do" is perfectly illustrated by the twilight years of these two legendary boxers.
posted by spicynuts on Nov 27, 2005 - 47 comments

On this day in 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire, 32 year old Muhammad Ali knocked out 25 yead old George Forman and regained the World Heavyweight Title. "The Rumble in the Jungle was a fight that made the whole country more conscious," Ali wrote at the time. "The fight was about racial problems, Vietnam. All of that." Above all the fight was a demonstration of Ali's inventiveness in the ring. After dazing Foreman with his trademark quickness in the first rounds, Ali fell back against the ropes, and waved Foreman to come get him. Protecting his head, Ali let Foreman pound away at his ribs and his gut. "At about the seventh round, I had him beaten, I knew I had him," Foreman recounted after the fight. "He fell on my side and whispered, ‘Is that all you got George?’ I knew something strange was happening in my life especially because that was all I had." In the eight round Ali came off the ropes and unleashed a fury of punches against his exhausted opponent. The dope went down. "I did it," Ali boasted after the fight. "I told you he was nothing but did you listen? I told you I was going to jab him in the corners, I told you I was going to take all his shots. I told you he had no skill. I told you he didn't like to be punched."
posted by three blind mice on Oct 30, 2005 - 58 comments

"Do girls box?" she asked, turning to her father one evening. "Is it OK for girls to box?" Part 1 of 10-year old boxer Seniesa Estrada's story. (reg. req.)
posted by riffraff on Jul 11, 2005 - 36 comments

Breakfast Brawl is some very fun Friday Flash Fun Mike Tyson's Punch-Out style. This is a direct link to the .swf...if you'd like to play the original (small and full of ads) hit it up here.
posted by gren on Mar 25, 2005 - 25 comments

Everyone is talking about Clint Eastwood's new movie, Million Dollar Baby (trailer). What you may not know however is that the movie was based on a short story in a book by the name of Rope Burns: Stories From The Corner by the late F.X. Toole (aka Jerry Boyd). The book by the way was called, "...the best boxing short fiction ever written," by James Ellroy of L.A. Confidential fame. Back in 2000 Toole gave an amazing interview on Fresh Air about spending the last 20 years of his life as a cut man and the last 40 years of writing while trying to overcome his fear of rejection before getting his first book published at age 70.
posted by pwb503 on Jan 18, 2005 - 19 comments

Prison, gangs, people, and boxing: photography by Chris Cozzone.
posted by fandango_matt on Dec 13, 2004 - 8 comments

"Mr. President, pardon Papa Jack" In 1908 a former Texas dockworker and inventor named Jack Johnson became the first African American boxer to ever win the world heavyweight title. His victory sparked race riots and prompted a search for a "great white hope" (writer Jack London asked white fighters to "wipe that smirk off Johnson's face"). But then Johnson defeated two "white hopes", one of whom was the legendary Jim Jeffries. In 1912, authorities went after Johnson in court. His crime? Messin' with the white woman. Charges were brought against him for violating the Mann Act, a federal law that made it a crime to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes." He married the woman, but he was sentenced to a year in prison anyway. Johnson fled the country, living in Europe as a fugitive for seven years, losing his title Havana in 1915 to a much younger white opponent after a 26-round fight in 100-degree-plus heat (Johnson possibly threw the fight in exchange for leniency that he never received). He returned to the U.S. in 1920, surrendered and served a year. He never again was given a chance to reclaim the title. When he died in poverty aged 68 in a car crash, not one boxer attended his funeral. Now a group of US Senators (among them Hatch and McCain), prominent African Americans (Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse Jackson, many others) and boxing writers seek a posthumous Presidential pardon for "Papa Jack". (more inside)
posted by matteo on Jul 22, 2004 - 26 comments

Vasil "Chuck" Bodak, Al Gavin, the poet Tom Smario, the great Jacob "Stitch" Duran: Legendary Cutmen.
posted by dfowler on May 10, 2004 - 2 comments

Chess Boxing. "The basic idea in chessboxing is to combine the #1 thinking sport and the #1 fighting sport into a hybrid that demands the most of its competitors – both mentally and physically, yet which can be performed by easiest means. In a chessboxing fight two opponents play alternating rounds of chess and boxing. The contest starts with a round of chess, followed by a boxing round, followed by another round of chess and so on." Radio Netherlands recently did a show about it. (RealAudio, 29m30s)
posted by tpoh.org on Dec 9, 2003 - 15 comments

Did anyone else make the mistake of ordering the worst pay-per-view ever? No, not The House of 1000 Corpses, but ten admittedly beautiful women wearing huge headgear and attempting (with little success) to pound the crap out of each other. It sounds better than it actually was -- trust me!
posted by johnnydark on Oct 11, 2003 - 16 comments

Tyson spouting off again In Thursday night's "The Pulse" on Fox, Mike Tyson goes on the record about his 1992 trial that put him in jail for three years. (sentenced to six, paroled after three). He denies raping Desiree Washington and says "I just hate her guts. She put me in that state, where I don't know...... I really wish I did now. But now I really do want to rape her.'' Reuters has an article on it too I thought after Tyson's statements about breaking his back after his last fight he would calm down a bit....but it's Tyson.
posted by meanie on May 29, 2003 - 35 comments

Lewis knocks out Tyson: "The ultimate dismantling of Mike Tyson was satisfying in only the way watching a man get what is coming to him can be."
posted by tranquileye on Jun 9, 2002 - 50 comments

The pain! The pain!
posted by swift on Jun 3, 2002 - 9 comments

LLLETS GET READY TO CASH OUR CHHHHHHHECKSSSSSS!!! 'Celebrity Boxing II' aired tonight on FOX. Let's see: Sloppy amateur fighting? Check. Desperate people willing to debase themselves for some quick cash? Check. The stink of exploitation? Check.

Hey, wait a minute -- I'm watching Bumfighting!
posted by Dirjy on May 22, 2002 - 11 comments

"I sacrifice so much of my life, can I at least get laid?" An interview with a boxer. Mike, you are fun to have around.
posted by thekorruptor on May 3, 2002 - 23 comments

What you talkin' about Willis? I'm talkin' about bitches and guns and kicking Vanilla Ice's ass so hard he's gonna look like Mr Drummond!
posted by skinsuit on Mar 14, 2002 - 39 comments

Amy Fisher vs. Tonya Harding The good people at FOX have put together another award winning special. 3 boxing matches featuring Danny Bonaduce vs. Greg Williams (Brady), Tonya vs. Amy and a third bout to be named later. Isn't this a sign of the apocolypse??
posted by Lanternjmk on Feb 27, 2002 - 41 comments

Frat Boys Gone Wild! "...the last straw came when the national office discovered the chapter's recreational boxing tournament in which members recruited local homeless persons, "liquored" them up, gave them large boxing gloves and "let them go to town,"" apparently as part a "...tradition of cock fighting and gambling in the house's basement."
posted by n9 on Feb 21, 2002 - 59 comments

Mike Tyson Can Box There: Why is Washington D.C. so pathetic? Beyond belief. Put the place on the map?
posted by ParisParamus on Feb 20, 2002 - 28 comments

Muhammad O' Ali. Geneologists have uncovered his Irish roots. His great grandfather was an Irish emigree who married an African American woman in Kentucky.
posted by Lanternjmk on Feb 8, 2002 - 12 comments

Lewis-Tyson Conference Disrupted by Mass Brawl Determined to turn this conference into a World Wrestling Federation spectacle, Tyson took a swing at Lewis and one of his handlers, pointed to his crotch while yelling at Lewis and screamed profanities at some of the boxing writers in attendance. Yes, Tyson BIT Lenox Lewis in the foot! Bert Sugar says Tyson was trying to get out of the fight since he is in the process of applying for a Nevada license which he had lost for biting Evander Hollyfield.
posted by Mack Twain on Jan 22, 2002 - 24 comments

For Ali's 60th, The Guardian reprints Alistair Cooke's original account of the Clay-Liston title bout in 1964. "...quicksilver against concrete. Mercury v the Dragon, a live contemptuous picador planting the flags at will in the neck of a tottering old bull." Was the era that this fight ushered in the last hurrah for the sweet science?
posted by coudal on Jan 18, 2002 - 2 comments

Beethavean Scottland died last night of head injuries sustained in a boxing last week. Will boxing ever be safe?
posted by dfowler on Jul 3, 2001 - 14 comments

Oscar goes For Five
He will attempt to join Hall of Famers Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns as the only boxers in history to win world championships in five weight divisions when he challenges WBC super welterweight champion Javier Castillejo on Saturday, June 23. I find the middle weight divisions more credible and fun than the heavyweight division.
posted by riley370 on Jun 18, 2001 - 7 comments

A fight between the heavyweight champion of the world and a poet - Lennox Lewis and Andrew Motion, now I'd pay to see that.
posted by johnny novak on Mar 12, 2001 - 17 comments

Now I know fathers want their kids to follow in their footsteps, but this is really weird. In March, the daughter of Muhammad Ali will take on the daughter of Joe Frazier in a boxing match. (And they're both pro's.)
posted by Steven Den Beste on Oct 20, 2000 - 11 comments

Ummm. What the hell is this?
posted by endquote on Mar 25, 2000 - 7 comments