Why do men (and women) enjoy boxing?
February 26, 2006 | 12:00am
During the much awaited boxing match between Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Erik "El Terrible" Morales, many witnessed the television coverage which showed men and women at the Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas cheering, waving flags and enjoying the match. The Filipinos in Las Vegas and in various areas of the country cheered as Manny Pacquiao landed hard punches on the already bloodied and battered face of Morales.
Excitement ran high again recently when Filipino-American pugilist Brian Villoria retained his World Boxing Council light flyweight title after his bout against Jose Antonio Aguirre.
In the Jan. 24, 2006 issue of the Philippine STAR, Joanne Rae M. Ramirez, in her People column, asked what could be the reason why men and women derive pleasure from watching two boxers beat each other to a pulp. My opinion regarding this matter is that men and women derive some kind of pleasure or gratification in viewing combative sports like boxing and wrestling because of man’s innate need and desire to compete and win.
When their chosen athlete garners points in the boxing match, there appears to be a lot of excitement and a vicarious feeling of winning. This could also be explained as a result of people’s tendency to be sado-masochists. I am not saying that the viewer of the combative sport is an actual or outright sadist or masochist. (A sadist is the person who inflicts the pain or punishment while a masochist is the person who submits to the pain. In sado-masochism, the pain is eroticized.) Somehow, however, the viewer apparently derives pleasure from seeing the boxer inflict harm on the other boxer. Some people say that, yes, their excitement is increased when their preferred boxer is on the winning streak. Seeing the opponent of their favored boxer becoming more physically injured is indeed a pleasurable experience for them, especially if their money stakes are high. A lot of them, however, will deny that there is an erotic flavor in the pleasure and excitement that they experience. A lot of these viewers have, in some way, isolated the fact that these boxers are human beings who feel physical and emotional pain with each blow that lands on their faces and bodies. There are a small percentage of females who would admit that they enjoy watching men’s boxing or wrestling matches because they feel sexually aroused.
Individuals who are exploratory, impulsive, extravagant or irritable are said to be more novelty-seeking. These novelty-seeking individuals tend to look for various pleasure-seeking behaviors and watching boxing and wrestling is an activity where they can derive pleasure from. Studies of genes involved in dopamine neurotransmission such as the dopamine transporter gene (DATI) and the type 4 dopamine receptor gene (DRD4) have shown evidence of association with novelty-seeking.
One of the values that has been passed on to us by our ancestors is the moral imperative of fair fight – "picking on somebody your own size." Apparently, this moral code has been embodied in the featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, heavyweight classifications for boxing, wrestling and other stylized fights. As a result of this moral code, a common theme or scenario in movies and telenovelas is that of a bully who cheats and breaks the fair-fight rule but in the end, the underdog somehow wins the battle.
Biologically, humans are programmed to protect their young even at all costs. The helpless, vulnerable infants will not survive if nurturing is not done. Parents are always there to repeatedly remind the growing child with such words as, "Be careful! You’ll hurt yourself." This now leads to an ethical question about boxing and wrestling as sport competitions. Unlike other sports, the players in boxing and wrestling inflict physical harm on each other. The risk of serious physical insults to the body and heads is so high in these two competitions and these injuries may result in permanent disability in the athletes. In fact, there already has been a long list of grave injuries suffered by professional boxers. A more recent one is that of Paul Ingle after he lost his IBF featherweight title to South African Mbulelo Botile in Sheffield. Ingle was in critical condition after surgeons operated on him to remove a blood clot in his brain. After this particular incident, there started to have clamors for the banning of boxing as a sport competition. There are so many arguments and opinions about this matter of banning boxing but personally, I feel that if boxing is banned, it might just turn out to be an underground sport and this may lead to more medical risks for the boxers. Rules to safeguard the safety of the boxers should at least be reviewed and revised.
(For questions on love, looks and relationships, e-mail me at ninahalili_allure2001@yahoo.com)
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