Becoming a decent man

Introduction

During the ten or so years that I’ve been involved in boxing I’ve seen countless people change their bodies, behaviours and performances of self. For many, this has been neatly understood as a simple process of becoming a boxer.

In large part, such ‘becoming’ involves moving from pugilistic newcomer towards a relatively comfortable embodiment of the physical and emotional grammars that are commonplace within boxing subcultures.

While this is perhaps most clear within the relative disparities between the physical literacy of novices in comparison to advanced boxers, it can also be understood and explored by considering the manner in which people come to ‘naturally’ perform other cultural hallmarks associated with boxing.

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