Inequalities and Redemption: A Boxing Story

Where and how innate ability meets with social environment to produce athletic excellence has fascinated many both inside and outside academe. Focusing specifically on boxing, this chapter explores one renowned boxing gym in the English city of Sheffield seeking answers to what motivates and makes a pugilist. The answer the authors suggest lies in notions of inequality and redemption. A crucial factor in the making of a champion, however, is the philosophy of the institution that teaches and the acquired paternal wisdom of the gym owner.