It was blood, bold and resolute, and it was an American sport. The sport of boxing had been played in Europe since the eighteenth century. It was not until the twentieth century when boxing became an American sport. At this time all Americans, regardless of race and financial status, could box. Any American athlete with a talent for boxing could make a sufficient amount of money that was enough to be successful. With technological advancements and increased political interest, boxing became increasingly popular in the twentieth century, and then declined in the twenty-first century. Corresponding to these peaks were also the growth and fall of faith in the American Dream. The parallelism in the two was no coincidence. Boxing was a vehicle for success in the past, and reinforced ideologies of the American Dream.
During the formation of America, most immigrants had left countries plagued with stout wealth disparities and some form of caste system. If a person in these foreign countries were born poor, it was most likely that they would struggling economically for the rest of their life. After the immigrants moved to the new country, the socioeconomic constraints were no longer insurmountable, and people 's success depended on their work ethic. This ideology of hard work equating success only became more fortified in American culture in the twentieth century. In 1931, Truslow Adams defined this phenomena in his book, The Epic of America. American dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement … dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. In this statement, Truslow Adams highlighted that the American Dream entitles a person to have the opportunity to achieve success regardless of family social and economic status. This ideology had become a secret reality in America, and every part of culture reflected it. Unlike polo or equestrian, boxing was a low income sport. There was no expensive equipment that was a barrier to entry for less fortunate Americans. While discretionary income would impact the quality of training, an man was able to succeed in boxing without investing large sums of money into the sport. Arlid Abadie, from TITLE Boxing Club, explained the cost of boxing, saying, "[To join as a member] it cost $99 for the first month and $69 for every month. We encourage people to buy masks, hand wraps and gloves, for sanitation reasons, but they can be rented". When the cost of membership was calculated, the price of boxing equated to $858 for a year of training. In addition, the equipment was a one time cost, based on average prices at Dicks Sporting Goods, of $250 for headgear, gloves and hand wraps. Compare to other sports, such as baseball, this was cheap."A child participating in baseball …. could be carrying around as much as $2,500 worth of equipment. Between bats, gloves, shoes, and protective gear, parents are very likely to spend well over $1,000 to outfit a child to play on a baseball team" (Ohio). As boxing did not have expensive barriers to entry, every American who wanted and trained well …show more content…
In this particular photograph, Ali towered over his opponent, Sonny Liston, in victory. He stands alone, with only the crowd. Boxing was an individual sport. There were no teams, only one-on-one battle between the two fighters. The individualism of boxing related with American individualism. "Americans grow up with the expectation of becoming independent early on and are rewarded heavily for personal achievements. And, as you’d expect, the ideology has much to do with the country’s roots". In boxing, athletes like Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson were praised for their feats as an individual warrior. These athletes became like heroes, which in terms of culture anthropology was a way for society to transmit the idea that individual accomplishment was a positive aspect in this culture. In a way, boxing became a metaphor for American 's belief in the right to succeed as an individual
During the formation of America, most immigrants had left countries plagued with stout wealth disparities and some form of caste system. If a person in these foreign countries were born poor, it was most likely that they would struggling economically for the rest of their life. After the immigrants moved to the new country, the socioeconomic constraints were no longer insurmountable, and people 's success depended on their work ethic. This ideology of hard work equating success only became more fortified in American culture in the twentieth century. In 1931, Truslow Adams defined this phenomena in his book, The Epic of America. American dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement … dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. In this statement, Truslow Adams highlighted that the American Dream entitles a person to have the opportunity to achieve success regardless of family social and economic status. This ideology had become a secret reality in America, and every part of culture reflected it. Unlike polo or equestrian, boxing was a low income sport. There was no expensive equipment that was a barrier to entry for less fortunate Americans. While discretionary income would impact the quality of training, an man was able to succeed in boxing without investing large sums of money into the sport. Arlid Abadie, from TITLE Boxing Club, explained the cost of boxing, saying, "[To join as a member] it cost $99 for the first month and $69 for every month. We encourage people to buy masks, hand wraps and gloves, for sanitation reasons, but they can be rented". When the cost of membership was calculated, the price of boxing equated to $858 for a year of training. In addition, the equipment was a one time cost, based on average prices at Dicks Sporting Goods, of $250 for headgear, gloves and hand wraps. Compare to other sports, such as baseball, this was cheap."A child participating in baseball …. could be carrying around as much as $2,500 worth of equipment. Between bats, gloves, shoes, and protective gear, parents are very likely to spend well over $1,000 to outfit a child to play on a baseball team" (Ohio). As boxing did not have expensive barriers to entry, every American who wanted and trained well …show more content…
In this particular photograph, Ali towered over his opponent, Sonny Liston, in victory. He stands alone, with only the crowd. Boxing was an individual sport. There were no teams, only one-on-one battle between the two fighters. The individualism of boxing related with American individualism. "Americans grow up with the expectation of becoming independent early on and are rewarded heavily for personal achievements. And, as you’d expect, the ideology has much to do with the country’s roots". In boxing, athletes like Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson were praised for their feats as an individual warrior. These athletes became like heroes, which in terms of culture anthropology was a way for society to transmit the idea that individual accomplishment was a positive aspect in this culture. In a way, boxing became a metaphor for American 's belief in the right to succeed as an individual