Boxing Column: The Pugilist @ Into the Void magazine

[a.rihn]

New column of The Pugilist is up at Into the Void magazine.

This month's column discusses Deontay Wilder's many masks & the persona of the prize fighter.

Take a look here and let me know what you think.

[Marchegiano]

You're pretty good bud.

[ruedboy]

Thanks, I enjoyed reading that.
I think a mask reveals more than it conceals.
It's like those fighters who wear dark glasses at the weigh in, there's some uncertainty there, some unwillingness to be seen.
Mike Tyson, always seemed mentally a bit fragile, but his ring entrance with black shoes, no socks, black shorts and cut towel told you Mike had his own idea of what the sport was about.

[a.rihn]

Thanks - I'm glad you both enjoyed it! The column will come out the 15th of every month, so keep an eye for more. And if you have ideas you'd like to see discussed - let me know!

[Marchegiano]

Thanks - I'm glad you both enjoyed it! The column will come out the 15th of every month, so keep an eye for more. And if you have ideas you'd like to see discussed - let me know!

Have I got this correct, you've written a book of poems for Mike Tyson's fights? I'm buying that ****!!

This is probably too niche, but, I'll throw it out there all the same.

I'd like the Police Gazette to rule on Tyson Fury's lineal claim seeing as how they've rebooted their bare knuckle title through a partnership with BKFC and are the only legitimate boxing authority from Sullivan's era still around today. I don't think it's asking too much for them to rule on a modern gloved boxing issue.

If anyone has the authority to say if Tyson is or is not the lineal heavyweight champion it's PG. They literally awarded Sullivan his belt.

We have Ring, TBRB, ESPN, BN, CBZ, Boxrec, LBC, and even our own BoxingScene rankings all with differing opinions on the subject and various levels of fan support for those opinions....and I'm sure I've forgotten a few too.

On top of there being so many authorities pitching various narratives, none of them are consistent. Well, maybe BoxingScene's own, but outside of BS you'll be hard pressed to find consistency in a lineage.

For example, officially TBRB, who I think has the lead in support from hardcore fans, does not have Fury as the current lineal because they claim he vacated when he retired after the Wlad fight. However, they have Corbett as the lineal champion until his Fitz fight even though Corbett retired and handed his title over to Maher.

That's being inconsistent as all get out with what it means to be lineal champion.

It seems like fans and ranking boards alike pick and choose between the actual, factual, traditions of the era prior to sanctioning bodies and the misconceptions of those traditions held by the boards and fans of the 70s.

I'm fairly certain they strip Tyson because they stripped Ali, but, they only stripped Ali because they had a poor understanding of the era prior to sanctioning bodies.

Ring had a massive influence on what the lineal title means and a lot of misconceptions can be traced back to them. Like the idea that ranking has anything to do with an era prior to ranking.

At this point neither the traditions or misconceptions are more true than the other. Corbett is lineal until Fitz because that follows tradition, but, Fury is stripped because Ali was stripped due to a misconception...on basically everyone's record of HW lineage.

So when someone asks "Is Fury really lineal" how you answer them is entirely up to you. You can say yes he is because these traditions and precedences, or, no he is not because these misconceptions have been taken for truth for too long to walk back making them the new traditions and precedence.

With one ruling, just an article on their site, PG could end the debate. It really doesn't matter what their logic is because they have the one thing no one else does. They are the actual awarders of that title and can no more be wrong about who they see as champion, even if they are just as inconsistent as everyone else, than the sanctioning bodies themselves. It is their title to award. Ring is the authority for Ring champions. If CBZ recognized a champion as a Ring champion who was not recognized by Ring CBZ would be very much wrong. WBC can't be wrong about who is the WBC champion. PG can't be wrong about lineal.

I dunno if there's a story in that, but, I think it's interesting.

[a.rihn]

Have I got this correct, you've written a book of poems for Mike Tyson's fights? I'm buying that ****!!

Yes, you have that correct. There's a link in my signature (shameless self promotion, I know). It's available for pre-order now; official release date is January 15.

I dunno if there's a story in that, but, I think it's interesting.

Definitely interesting, but I think you just wrote the story!

[Marchegiano]

Yes, you have that correct. There's a link in my signature (shameless self promotion, I know). It's available for pre-order now; official release date is January 15.



Definitely interesting, but I think you just wrote the story!

fair enough.

I actually got a response from them this morning. Took about a week, they have no plans or interest in having any influence in current gloved boxing politics. Official stance is duke it out amongst yourselves so, no, they'll not be ending any debate any time soon.

[a.rihn]

That's actually pretty cool that you got a response, even if it wasn't the one you wanted.