Mike Tyson's ear biting incident with heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield re-ignited calls for a ban on the sport that has been dubbed by critics as "barbaric," "obscene," and "lethal." Several boxers have even been killed in the ring. Write an essay in which you either support or reject a ban on boxing.
Essay Response (this is a revision of the essay on the previous page): (reproduced courtesy Michele Dimock, Writing 099 student)
Rhapsody of a Boxer
A 100 lb leather punching bag swings from a hook under the sundeck. It is biting cold outside and the boxer's breath floats into a tiny cloud above him and disappears. His eyes are transfixed at an unseen face on the target. He dances to a rhythm that only he can hear. He breathes loudly through his nose as each quick jab hits the bag hard. A powerful blow hits its mark after every third or fourth jab. The fists slice the air in precisely the same spot each time and a pattern emerges. The bag is now swinging as he circles, making his music. You cannot help but hold your breath at the beauty of his strength and agility.
Somewhere in America, a couple sits in their living room. As they surf the channels, they catch round ten of a professional boxing match. They comment that this violent and savage sport should be banned. They have never heard the music or seen the dance.
Boxing is a test of the physical, mental, and spiritual will of two opponents. It challenges the strength of the individual.
Critics have stated that the only aim of boxing is to deliver blows to the head and torso of an opponent and knock him down, rendering him incapable of rising to a standing position within 10 seconds. They say the aim is simply to savagely beat the opponent into unconsciousness. Boxing, however, is much more than this. It requires style, grace, speed, dedication, and intelligence. It has a strict code of rules, and is judged on an challenging point system. Boxing is often unfairly compared to the sport of Ultimate Fighting, which involves very few rules and high degrees of injury. Here, the aim in purely to inflict so much pain on your opponent that he will surrender. Due to the lack of rules, serious injuries are a frequent occurrence. A more suitable comparison would be to the martial arts, another brutal fighting sport. However, many martial arts have a religious overtone that earns the respect of the spectators. The combatants seem to be very controlled, very athletic. Boxers also often achieve this same level of spirituality through their focus and discipline. They dedicate their lives to the pursuit of these skills.
This dedicated pursuit of athletic skill has led to amateur boxing's rich tradition at the Olympics, where it has been an event since 1904. Many Olympic medal winners, like Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and Muhammed Ali, have gone on to have very respected, very successful, very honourable professional careers. Ear biting incidents are the exception to the rule.
The movie, When We Were Kings, is a documentary of the Ali-Forman bout that took place in 1974. The film is a testimonial to the artistry of the boxer. This "Rumble in the Jungle," as it was called, is still considered to be one of the best bouts of all time. Muhammed Ali is at his technical, stylistic best, outfighting a much larger, more powerful man. Ali time and time again proved that boxing is a test of the physical, mental, and spiritual will of the opponents. He also proved that it tests the strength of the individual in more than just the literal sense.
Boxing can, in fact, test the strength of a person's character. Many boxers come from the disadvantaged side of society. They are often kids who come from criminal backgrounds, but are looking to restore some order to their lives. These kids gravitate to willing mentors, in old warehouses or basements transformed into smelly gyms. Boxing teaches them to focus, to train, to discipline their minds and bodies, and, perhaps most of all, to respect themselves. I have seen this happen with my own eyes.
Each night in my home community on the Musqueam Reserve, a boxer trains the youths in the gym. Often, it is the only routine and discipline some of these teenagers receive on a consistent basis. They are taught to take the knocks of life and get back up to fight again. They are taught to be confident. They are taught to overcome.
My teenage daughters joined a boxing club a couple of years ago in Squamish, BC. Their gym is an old warehouse in an industrial park where an amateur boxer works with them. My once timid daughter dances around the heavy bag. She is both powerful and graceful as she makes her music. The trainer has taught my girls the beauty and art of the sport. He has also built strength into their characters to be focused and resilient in all aspects of life.
Critics have cried out for a ban on the sport of boxing, but we must not be dissuaded by accidental or undisciplined incidents that occur in the ring. We cannot ban this powerful form of art. Rather, let us watch in awe as the fighter makes music under the sundeck. Let us watch in awe as we hold our breath.
A Writing Instructor's Critique of the Revised Essay:
The revision is much more persuasive than the original. Overall, it is more focused, more specifically developed, and generally better organized.
The essay begins with an informative, engaging title that links boxing to the dancing-music imagery right away. The writer has shifted the paragraph using vivid description and narration to the opening of the essay. In this position, it orients the audience to the subject in an engaging way and implies the writers' position.
Paragraph 3, while brief, offers a specific thesis as a counterpoint to the views of the critics outlined in Paragraph 2.
Paragraph 4 is excellent in that it serves to directly counter-argue some of the common misperceptions regarding boxing. The writer offers her own definition of the sport in opposition to the critical view. Another significant improvement over the first version is that here the writer draws more convincing parallels to sports that share boxing's fighting-oriented nature. She aligns boxing with other well-respected fighting sports like the different varieties of martial arts.
In Paragraph 5, the writer again includes some background information on boxing, but this time she focuses on the rich, well-respected tradition that boxing has enjoyed. She also uses concrete examples of successful boxers who serve as better representatives of the sport than Mike Tyson.
In this revision, the writer has decided to keep her reference to the documentary film. However, in Paragraph 6 she has expanded her discussion of the film to include an explanation of why the film is a "testimony to the artistry of the boxer." This paragraph also serves as a smooth transition into her next point.
Paragraphs 7, 8, and 9 are entirely new additions to the essay. The writer rather effectively draws on both ethical and emotional appeal to show how, through her own experiences, she has come to regard boxing in such a positive light. Her examples are rather personal and quite emotionally persuasive.
The conclusion in Paragraph 10 remains largely unchanged from the original. However, it works more effectively here due to the expanded development throughout the essay.
