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himself.” The importance of cunning in boxing doesn’t lessen the very real | himself.” The importance of cunning in boxing doesn’t lessen the very real | ||
physical perils. Boxing is not professional wrestling; the violence is real. The | physical perils. Boxing is not professional wrestling; the violence is real. The | ||
sport’s mental aspect, which Torres so prizes, comes into play when physical abilities are comparable. Ali, the “Louisville Lip,” was able to back up his | sport’s mental aspect, which Torres so prizes, comes into play when physical abilities are comparable. Ali, the “Louisville Lip,” was able to back up his bluster, even if he did so with an unorthodox style. | ||
bluster, even if he did so with an unorthodox style. | |||
The idea that boxers, individuals who choose to engage in a braindamaging game, are smart might strike the uninitiated as peculiar if not | The idea that boxers, individuals who choose to engage in a braindamaging game, are smart might strike the uninitiated as peculiar if not | ||
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genuine and not another instance of a boxer’s con game. For he did share his | genuine and not another instance of a boxer’s con game. For he did share his | ||
friend’s views about pugilistic trickery. In his 1975 account of the AliForeman fight, Mailer explicitly invokes the D’Amato-Torres philosophy, a key component of which is that a skilled boxer can block or evade any punch | friend’s views about pugilistic trickery. In his 1975 account of the AliForeman fight, Mailer explicitly invokes the D’Amato-Torres philosophy, a key component of which is that a skilled boxer can block or evade any punch | ||
they can see coming. “Champions were great liars,” Mailer explains in ''The''''Fight'' | they can see coming. “Champions were great liars,” Mailer explains in ''The''''Fight'' “They had to be. Once you knew what they thought, you could hit them. So their personalities became masterpieces of concealment.” | ||
However, Mailer elsewhere expresses the other widely held view of boxing, the one in which fighters are heroic warriors, which is precisely how | However, Mailer elsewhere expresses the other widely held view of boxing, the one in which fighters are heroic warriors, which is precisely how |
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