MetaFilter posts tagged with boxing

Chess Boxing (Or, How Kasparov Met Tyson)

Effigy2000 — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:52:43 -0800

Chess Boxing, a hybrid sport which combines boxing with chess in alternating rounds, is growing in popularity. Inspired by fictional depictions of the sport in French comic book artist Enki Bilal's graphic novel, Froid Équateur, Dutch artist Iepe Rubingh brought the concept to life in 2001. Governed by the World Chess Boxing Organisation, whose motto is "Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board", matches consist of up to eleven alternating rounds of boxing and chess with a one minute break between rounds. A photographic account of the sport. Further reading. Further viewing. Previously.

The "boy-killing, man-mutilating, money-making, education-prostituting, gladiatorial sport."

phrontist — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:55:54 -0800

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?

Float like a leprechaun, sting like a bee

Zed — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:34:32 -0800

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. Previously: 1 2

America's only "Native Martial Art"?

P.o.B. — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:11:39 -0800

"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 As the article notes, there wasn't much info available about 52 previous to the past few years. Information was generally secondhand and culled from multiple sources. Here is a link aggregate that extends back many years, including a thread with plenty of (alleged) info embedded in it here. The style(s) include techniques with names like Skull and Crossbones, Catch and Kiss, and The Crown. Catch and Kiss was popularized by a person named Mother Dear on (in?) Rikers Island (second post down). (Wiki) Some inside YT links contain NSFW rap lyrics and marketing.

female fighters and strongwomen

nickyskye — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:36:43 -0800

Female Single Combat Club [nsfw]. An extensive site about women fighters around the world and in history. In English and Russian. Previously.

Friday Java Fun

Rhaomi — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:45:07 -0800

Two slimes. One circle. Infinite addiction. Welcome to the world of Slimeball. Slime Volleyball, AKA "One Slime", is the old standby, but scads of mods and variants have proliferated over time: Two-player Slime Volleyball, with stats and uniforms and game-modifying codes Power Slime, a Volleyball variant where the players are given random special abilities Slime Soccer, Slime Space Soccer, Slime Bowling, Slime Tennis, Slime Ice Hockey, and Slime Basketball Slime Dodgeball and Slime Rugby, two games with magnetic play in which slimes can "pick up" the ball on their domes and toss them across the field. Slime Cricket and Slime Boxing, too. Have you proven yourself unworthy? Search for winning strategies on the SlimeWiki. Or just vent your frustrations to your fellow Inferior Human Controlled Slimes on the Slime Forum. And finally, an (aging) online solution for enterprising Mefites itching to deliver a virtual smackdown.

Back Dat Ass Up

Stynxno — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:27:50 -0800

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. Facebreaker is the newest game from EA Sports that allows you to create your own cartoon boxers. To show this, EA sports used D-List celebrity Kim Kardashian to take on EA's president Peter Moore. Created players will be uploaded to the EA servers and be available for download.

'Roid Writer

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:05:19 -0800

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'.

Let those who dare, come battle with me.

hob — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 19:10:00 -0800

D a m b e is a form of boxing associated with the H a u s a 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.

"My father was one of the finest sportswriters of his generation. But his legacy is more complicated than that."

amyms — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:20:06 -0800

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.

Yo Adrian!

dersins — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:37:53 -0800

If you like boxing (or "Rocky") you might enjoy this youtube video of the Arturo Gatti - Mickey Ward fights recut to resemble Rocky II. If you don't enjoy either of those things, why did you bother clicking the link?

Raging Boll

bob sarabia — Sun, 24 Sep 2006 22:06:09 -0800

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.

Your Karate is No Good.

tkchrist — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 13:04:30 -0800

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.)

Call It Blood If You Will

The Bellman — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 12:52:50 -0800

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.

What does John Solomon have against Harry Reid?

papakwanz — Wed, 31 May 2006 00:49:53 -0800

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

What have you told your children about Muhammad Ali?

spicynuts — Sun, 27 Nov 2005 14:08:55 -0800

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.

Rope a Dope

three blind mice — Sun, 30 Oct 2005 07:57:26 -0800

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."

Do girls box?

riffraff — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 00:33:10 -0800

"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.)

Have you fought your cereal lately?

gren — Fri, 25 Mar 2005 13:38:14 -0800

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.

Million Dollar Baby Short Story

pwb503 — Tue, 18 Jan 2005 00:06:13 -0800

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.

Just as every cop is a criminal and all the sinners saints

fandango_matt — Mon, 13 Dec 2004 11:25:47 -0800

Prison, gangs, people, and boxing: photography by Chris Cozzone.

matteo — Thu, 22 Jul 2004 07:52:23 -0800

"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)

Have Cut, Will Travel

dfowler — Mon, 10 May 2004 11:37:28 -0800

Vasil "Chuck" Bodak, Al Gavin, the poet Tom Smario, the great Jacob "Stitch" Duran: Legendary Cutmen.

Fisticuffs and Flanking Manouevres

tpoh.org — Tue, 09 Dec 2003 20:37:49 -0800

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)

Perfect 10 Model Boxing

johnnydark — Sat, 11 Oct 2003 08:47:34 -0800

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!