The 10 Commandments of Boxing Narratives
I like to believe that I have an open mind, but I don't hold many things sacred. It is the basis of science itself to always doubt the very ideas we live our life by. One thing I've never doubted though was boxing. The Sweet Science of punching another person in the face for sport. It is some kind of ultimate Bushido Arena of Truth to me. There is so much you understand better about yourself after competing in a boxing match.I haven't written any novel, so I've always scaled back on giving people writing advice on this blog, but I've been in the ring before and because of that I've became an über purist of boxing fiction. I wouldn't say I was any good, but the sport gave a lot more to me than I ever could give back, so I thought I'd share with you:
10 rules to help make your boxing narrative better
. Most of these truths would apply to mixed martial arts and somewhat to street fighting, by the way.
1) There are three different kinds of boxers in a gym
a) The Recreational Guy
That guy doesn't have anything to do with anybody else in the gym. He just waltzed in and he's "doing it for the workout". He's a friendly, often older guy, but if the others are too friendly with him, he's going to start offering them unsolicited boxing advice. The Recreational Guy isn't a boxer per se, because he has only experienced the positive aspects of the sport.
b) The Sparring Partner/Club Fighter
Putting the gloves and trading punches with another person requires courage. Becoming somebody else's regular sparring partner will allow you to earn their undying respect and friendship. You will share fears, frustrations and bruises. There's something primordial about sharing punches with somebody. Try hating a guy you've thrown everything at for 4 rounds if he's still standing after. It's impossible.
c) The Competitor
That guy has entered a higher plane of existence. He is always in the gym working on his game because he has the most to risk. He can move faster than you think. Competitors are not the friendliest and the easiest guy to approach and often rater stick with each other. It's a level of friendship you can't possibly understand because it's intimately linked to the point I'm about to make...
2) Boxing is terrifying
Simply put, fighting a complete stranger who wants to tear your head off in front of a bloodthirsty crowd for little to no money is some people's idea of hell. It is a traumatizing ordeal for a lot of the competitors. Competing in a real boxing match definitely isn't the same as sparring with a friend in a controlled environment. It's more akin to fighting for your life. Keep that in mind. Every boxer is scared out of his mind when getting in the ring. Even the toughest SOBs. Even the guys on television. The higher the stakes, the most terrifying it is. After all, would you like to be KO'ed on HBO and be .gif'ed on social media? The guys who become successful are those who can channel this animal fear into organized aggression.
3) Lingo doesn't buy you credibility
It's a common mistake for writers describing a fighting scene to describe every punch and speak in highly technical terms. It's a mistake and here's why: try doing a three minutes sparring round and remember everything that you've done. You won't because your attention is not on you, but on the other guy. Muscle memory will take care of your offense. You will vaguely remember what you've done strategically (pick your shots from the outside, taking angles, etc.) But not the blow-for-blow recap. It's not because you know the lingo that you know how it does.
4) Gluttons for Punishment don't exist
I think I've watched 15 minutes of Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix because that stupid boxing monologue in the beginning turned me off. No guy likes being hit and no guy ever psyched his opponent out by taking his best punches right on the chin. You might give me Sefo vs Hunt for counterargument, but 1) these guys were freaks working in K1's concussion factory that rendered several fighters punch drunk, 2) If you're looking at it, closely, they're tucking their chin in and taking it on the forehead and 3) It's the only in their respective they did such a stunt.
The storyline of the self-destructive boxer taking his opponents' best punches on the chin is bullshit. The brain doesn't heal like the rest of the body. In fact it doesn't heal at all, so whenever you get knocked down or knocked out, it's going to get increasingly more likely to happen. Once an opponent has found your proverbial button, it's only going to get bigger and bigger, so why would anybody willingly expose it?
5) It's a sport, not slaughter
Boxing is not a street fight. The idea is to hit without getting it. It requires speed, skill and most important strategy. Gruesome KO's often are the result of questionable referring and great boxing matches are not supposed to end this way. If you talk to a boxing coach or an experienced fighter, you will hear strategic talk right off the bat whatever the subject is: "Tyson made a living off baiting guys into jabbing him off,'' ''Marquez got Pacquiao with that patient counter right because Manny keeps walking in like a crazy person,'' stuff like this. Boxing is a sport and the strategic aspect of it fascinated every athlete and trainer.
6) It's not a nice life
It never is, no matter how you want to play it. One of the first boxers I've ever met told me: "Boxing is half prostitution. You sell your body to promoters." Making your living out of getting punched in the face means you have to get punched in the face whenever you want to make money. Every time you earn a pay check, you put your health at risk. Every fight might be your last. It's not better when you're a famous world champion. Not only you have to face the same risk as club fighters, but you have an entire entourage of people living off you who push you into taking fights. Several champions have taken one fight too many, and it's not because their ego drove them to that extra fight, but it's because they felt responsible for the people working for them.
7) Every successful boxer is smart
I don't care how much of a meathead they are, if a boxer finds success in the ring it's because he has a strong capacity of adaptation, he can deal with adversity and make decision on the fly with his health at risk. There are several types of smarts and boxers are a good example of that. Some people understand Hegel, but can figure their way out of a paperbag. Some people can't read, but they can take down fighting machines with a few, smart decisions taken under pressure. Everybody is different. Education and intelligence aren't the same thing and there are more intelligent people than educated ones in boxing.
8) Everybody loses
Whoever tells you they're 400-0 are full of shit. Everybody loses. It's just mathematical. Guys can go on a nutty winning streak, but sooner or later boredom, sloppiness or old age is going to catch up to them. It gets increasingly more difficult for champions to stay ahead of the curve because they are the variable everybody needs to adapt to and they're in the dark as to what they need to adapt about their game. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Joe Calzaghe never lost as pros, but their record was the result of sound and strategic matchmaking and opportunistic retirement. They would've lost eventually.
9) Boxing is sort of chaos
In fact, boxing is one of my favorite example for the theory of chaos. It's why you get crazy upsets and exciting fights. Every boxing match is a blank canvas that starts getting painted on with the first punch. From there, the match is a series of reactions for both boxers who are trying to manage their emotions and health status as well as winning the fight. So many variables can influence the outcome. Good coaching, a good coach-athlete relationship, a bad one, a bad off-ring situation, etc. It's impossible to dictate how a match will go before the bell has rang because it's impossible to predict the reaction to every punches. That's why it's such a scary sport. You're facing the greater unknown half-naked in front of bloodthirsty people.
10) Boxing is the truth
Boxing has such a transformative power over people because of how truthful it is. Every fight is going to give you an exact, unbiased portrait of your abilities and will tell you whether or not you've sacrificed enough blood, sweat and tears in the gym. The beautiful part is that you can transcend this portrait by learning from your mistakes, working harder and getting back in there to face your fears once again. It's a painful and thankless process, but it changes a person to know what she's worth and how she has power to change her destiny to some extent.
I hope this helped! If you have questions or anything to add, remember that I'm always happy to hear from you as long as the exchanges remain polite!