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The Mailer Review/Volume 2, 2008/Fighters and Writers: Difference between revisions
The Mailer Review/Volume 2, 2008/Fighters and Writers (view source)
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Patterson, Torres himself, and Mike Tyson.“[Ali] is not a good fighter, so says | Patterson, Torres himself, and Mike Tyson.“[Ali] is not a good fighter, so says | ||
D’Amato, much less a great fighter. But he is champion of the world.Which, | D’Amato, much less a great fighter. But he is champion of the world.Which, | ||
believing Cus, and I do, makes Ali a genius....” He continues, in virtually the | believing Cus, and I do, makes Ali a genius....” He continues, in virtually the same words he spoke to me decades after the 1971 book appeared: | ||
same words he spoke to me decades after the 1971 book appeared: | |||
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gym to gym and are the nearest thing we have to our own culture.... We have a man who does not have the physical greatness of the greatest men of other times, yet no professional has been | gym to gym and are the nearest thing we have to our own culture.... We have a man who does not have the physical greatness of the greatest men of other times, yet no professional has been | ||
able to beat him.... The explanation is simple. Muhammad Ali | able to beat him.... The explanation is simple. Muhammad Ali | ||
is a genius.... Don’t watch Ali’s gloves, arms or legs when he’s | is a genius.... Don’t watch Ali’s gloves, arms or legs when he’s fighting. Watch his brains | ||
fighting. Watch his brains | </blockquote> | ||
Other writers have made similar claims in connection with other fighters. | Other writers have made similar claims in connection with other fighters. | ||
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dodges used by an inventive mind in going through the logical operations of | dodges used by an inventive mind in going through the logical operations of | ||
a mathematical problem are really not very different from the ring-craft displayed by a well-trained body.” A. J. Liebling, who composed numerous entertainingly digressive, erudite articles on boxing for The New Yorker in the | a mathematical problem are really not very different from the ring-craft displayed by a well-trained body.” A. J. Liebling, who composed numerous entertainingly digressive, erudite articles on boxing for The New Yorker in the | ||
1950s and early 1960s, distinguishes between “the ruffian approach” and that | 1950s and early 1960s, distinguishes between “the ruffian approach” and that of “the reasoner inside the ring.” | ||
of “the reasoner inside the ring.” | |||
Part of boxers’ “culture,” in the view of Torres and his fellow thinkers, is | Part of boxers’ “culture,” in the view of Torres and his fellow thinkers, is | ||
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Newfield changes tack when relating his own work to that of boxers, who | Newfield changes tack when relating his own work to that of boxers, who | ||
then become paragons. For instance, in Somebody’s Gotta Tell It, the story of | then become paragons. For instance, in ''Somebody’s Gotta Tell It'', the story of | ||
his life as a newspaperman, Newfield, following Mailer’s example, finds | his life as a newspaperman, Newfield, following Mailer’s example, finds | ||
fighters worth emulating, but at the keyboard rather than the gym. Boxers’ | fighters worth emulating, but at the keyboard rather than the gym. Boxers’ | ||
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indication of the respect he has for athletes who, like Sisyphus, persevere | indication of the respect he has for athletes who, like Sisyphus, persevere | ||
through ultimately pointless endeavors. He also transmutes physical combat into the equivalent of a matter of language, viewing a fight as though it were an argument. Fighters’ representative capabilities—their amply | through ultimately pointless endeavors. He also transmutes physical combat into the equivalent of a matter of language, viewing a fight as though it were an argument. Fighters’ representative capabilities—their amply | ||
documented tendency to be regarded by spectators as the embodiment | documented tendency to be regarded by spectators as the embodiment of a race, an ethnicity or a nationality—offers writers plenty of material to work with beyond mere athleticism. Camus explains how, for those inattendance at a fight he witnessed in Algeria between Amar from Oran and Pérez from Algiers, the boxers became stand-ins for their respective cities and how their bout became an extension of an ongoing rivalry between the | ||
of a race, an ethnicity or a nationality—offers writers plenty of material | |||
to work with beyond mere athleticism. Camus explains how, for those | |||
Pérez from Algiers, the boxers became stand-ins for their respective cities | |||
and how their bout became an extension of an ongoing rivalry between the | |||
two places. “Thus a page of history is unfolding in the ring. And the tough | two places. “Thus a page of history is unfolding in the ring. And the tough | ||
Oranese, backed by a thousand yelling voices, is defending against Pérez a | Oranese, backed by a thousand yelling voices, is defending against Pérez a | ||