Opinions & Features
‘Headshot’ Uncovers Novel Language and Insight into an Elderly, Much-Discussed Sport
The ideal vantage point from which to view and judge a sport like boxing is not unlike the ideal vantage point a boxer seeks when he is in the ring to launch an attack. It is close, but not too close. It is distant, but not so far away that the distance can be confused with reserve, disinterest, or fear.
In other words, it’s kind of mid-range. At this range, you’re close enough to strike whenever you see an opportunity, but you’ve still allowed yourself enough distance that you don’t muffle your work, get caught by something you didn’t see, or get swallowed by a clinch. At this range, you have a chance to see and think, and also detect weakness and keep your mind clear in the chaos.
And yet, because of both nerves and emotion, there is still the temptation to get in close, close, at which point nothing that lands will be immaculate, solid, or penetrating. This is true for boxers and writers alike. The reality is that in this day and age, when few are able to do anything productive or worthwhile with their access, we find ourselves in one persistent and frustrating clinch; the referee has ordered us to “work our way out,” and then we have simply done the same job and expected different results.
That’s why reading books like those by Rita Bullwinkel—a self-proclaimed outsider—provides such a refreshing experience for anyone tired of hearing the same aged words used to describe the same aged situations. In her debut novel, Bullwinkel successfully creates a fresh kind of language for a sport whose lexicon is so familiar that it has, like many of its participants, been used and abused to the point of exhaustion. Reading it, you are immediately reminded of the importance of outsiders. You are also reminded of how the nature of boxing continues to provide a framework for exploring larger, human issues, and how its language, while somewhat banal, is still universal, accessible even to the outsider.
That’s not to say Bullwinkel is a stranger to competition. An eight-time junior Olympian in water polo, although she’s never boxed, she’s spent enough time around people trying to beat her in run-down gyms and arenas to know the telltale sounds and smells. She also consulted with Ginny Fuchs, a professional boxer, to double-check the details and make sure everything about her matched up with her own amateur boxing experiences. In doing so, Bullwinkel has managed to craft a gripping tale of an amateur tournament involving eight teenage girls, told over the course of two days. The book is structured as a series of matches, starting with the quarterfinals, and keeps most of the action in the ring, offering insight either through flashbacks or flashforwards or by vividly detailing the thought processes of two girls who trade more than just punches as they battle it out.
Unencumbered by distance, and by the fact that this is fiction, Bullwinkel uses her eight boxers to generate the kind of insights that will enlighten even the most jaded boxing writers and fans. “Artemis Victor has no idea what it takes to own a house,” she writes, “but she knows what it takes to beat other people, which is what owning real estate feels like, beating other people to owning a piece of land and making that piece of land yours, not sharing it with other people, because owning real estate is a product of your winning over other people, like when you’ve won more dollars than they have, so now that piece of land is yours forever.”
Rita Bullwinkel reads excerpts from her novel “Headshot”
As the tournament progresses, he inevitably says goodbye to some of his characters. However, rather than simply losing them entirely, Bullwinkel ingeniously decides that the winner of each round will take a piece of their defeated opponent with them into the next. This is not literally the case, I must point out, but as Bullwinkel explained at a reading at Daunt Books (Marylebone) on 20 June, “I can see them cannibalising their opponent after they have defeated him.”
Again, this is an captivating thought; perhaps one that only an outsider, someone who affectionately calls punches “strikes,” and who knows nothing about boxing, could come up with. It certainly cannot be said that a boxer is changed by every man or woman he trains to hurt in the ring. There is also often a sense that the relationship they form with these opponents is changed forever, usually for the better, by the “communication” in that ring on fight night. Before, they may have hated and humiliated each other, but invariably, fighting—the only therapy some know—is the ideal environment in which to figure it out, to reach a deeper understanding, and in the end to be free of either the better fighter or the better person—or, ideally, both.
In many cases, calling a novel a “boxing book” not only understates it, but does it a disservice. It is, after all, much more—and better—than that. Indeed, when Bullwinkel, mid-fight, pauses to reveal what her adolescent boxers will do with their lives into aged age, you understand both the transience of the hobby/obsession and the fact that boxing will only be a part of anyone’s life, regardless of their level of interest, dedication, and fitness.
For me, that was the most brilliant aspect; the image of boxing, so consuming and unsafe, as something that comes and goes, and when it is gone, never checks to see if you are all right. Here it finds a kinship with , another great boxing novel by W. C. Heinz, which revels in its ability to strike at parts of the body and soul that others cannot reach. Both, published some 66 years apart, beautifully capture the fundamental truth of boxing and its participants, other so-called true stories or non-fiction accounts that they cannot even see, so restricted are they either by a perceived, convenient truth or by the egos of the real-life characters involved. But in fiction, of course, there is always a distance. And in that distance lies the truth.
Classic: Heinz WC Professional
You cannot learn how to take a punch. Warriors can be gifted with an iron chin or cursed with a glass chin. Throughout history, many of the greatest fighters of all time have relied on their toughness to overcome adversity and remain at the top of the boxing world.
Viewers were impressed by the speed, IQ and strength of many of the technically best boxers in history, but there was also something to behold when witnessing a punch that should have crushed anyone it hits when thrown so nonchalantly.
Recent history tells us this: viral reactions of disbelief on social media and the reaction to Gennady Golovkin effortlessly passing Canelo Alvarez’s right hand racket. Like everything in boxing, everything has its levels and the ability to make a shot is the same. In contrast, the same punch has previously decimated James Kirkland and Amir Khan in consecutive KOs this year.
With this in mind, I have highlighted 20 standout players who, in my opinion, had the most hard-wearing chins in history. This list requires extensive footage of each fighter, which excludes many old-school brawlers like Harry Greb and Jack Britton, to name a few. These were men who had gone through hundreds of 15- and 20-round bouts without stopping.
In the first part of a three-part series, let’s take a look at the first selection of fighters who were almost impossible to defeat.
20) Canelo Alvarez – a chin that can withstand brutal punishment
As it stands, the Mexican superstar has never been dropped in a career spanning 66 fights and spanning 20 years. While Canelo’s fluid defense and instinctive ability to control shots have allowed him to withstand many of the shots he takes, he still has enough color without even being moved. From what I remember, he was only in trouble twice, briefly by Golovkin in their second fight, and as a teenager he broke down notably against Jose Miguel Cotto, coming back and winning in two fights.
Canelo’s consistent durability is more impressive considering the number of top fighters he has faced in the 154- to 175-pound weight range.
Golovkin and Kovalev are two of the most perilous knockout artists of their generation. Bivol was much bigger, and the likes of Jacobs, Munguia, Kirkland and Cotto had powerful fists.
Munguia gave his all against Canelo, but it wasn’t enough.
(Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
19) Chris Eubank – super middleweight king with a granite beard
Eubank, one of Britain’s toughest fighters, was stopped only once in 52 fights by the mighty Carl Thompson, who even stopped future heavyweight champion David Haye. His eccentricity somewhat overshadows the fortitude he possessed, but you only have to watch his fights against legendary fighters such as Steve Collins and Nigel Benn to see that Eubank was extraordinary.
He took Joe Calzaghe to the finish before the Welsh started to have stern hand problems and stopped all but one of their opponents. Eubank’s attack on the highly rated Michael Watson, who had so tragically turned the fight to his advantage, was perhaps the most dramatic display of his toughness.
Steve Collins attacks Chris Eubank during their fight on September 9, 1995 (Holly Stein/ALLSPORT)
18) Julio Cesar Chavez – an iron man, described by Mike Tyson as one of the best of his generation
Chavez never took a step back. In his prime, the highly talented, relentless Mexican was as close to an immovable object as boxing has ever seen. Throughout 13 peak years of unparalleled greatness and dominance in the contemporary era, he remained both undefeated and on his feet before getting his first taste of the canvas against Frankie Randall in his 91st fight.
Like Canelo, Chavez was masterful defensively, but with such an aggressive style, he inevitably absorbed difficult punches. However, against big-name boxers like Edwin Rosario, they only seemed to fuel his vicious intensity after bouncing off his skull.
17) David Tua – The Up-to-date Zealand left hook specialist faced the toughest punches
Considering the era in which Tua fought and his miniature, compact frame, it’s truly astonishing that in his 59-fight career, he only got to the deck once and was never stopped. Some of this may be due to his own bone-crushing power, stopping opponents before they can launch their own bombs.
However, Tua continued to absorb everything that Lennox Lewis threw at him, breaking the world record for most punches thrown in a heavyweight fight against the dangerously explosive Ike Ibeabuchi in a classic! Add in fights against Michael Moorer, John Ruiz and Hasim Rahman, and Tua’s chin rivaled many of the world’s top champions during one of the best eras in the heavyweight division.
David Tua (Al Bello/Allsport)
16) James Toney – Finding the chin of one of the defensive greats was a challenge in itself
James Toney is a freaking talent. A man who loved to fight in close combat and yet was never truly struck unscathed, from middleweight championship honors to heavyweight title fights. This was all down to Toney’s free-flowing defense, which was perfect for piercing, malicious close-up combinations. From clashes with the talented Roy Jones Jr and Michael Nunn to fearsome heavyweights Evander Holyfield, Samuel Peter and John Ruiz, Toney was never stopped in 92 fights.
Even as a shell of his former self, he had enough to avoid the force of punches from the likes of Lucas Browne and Denis Lebedev. Toney recovered from all three knockdowns of his career, which came against Jones Jr., Reggie Johnson and Samuel Peter.
Roy Jones in great shape. Photo: Holly Stein/Allsport
15) George Foreman – This returning king has taken an absurd amount of punches
While George Foreman’s hellacious haymakers cemented their place in boxing history, I always felt they overshadowed the punishment the great man could endure. In 81 fights at the age of 20 and 40 in two careers, probably the two toughest periods in heavyweight history, the great George was stopped only once. The stoppage in his match against Muhammad Ali in the iconic “Rumble in the Jungle” was due to exhaustion rather than impact resistance.
George imitated the Terminator on some occasions, especially in his older years, when he constantly marched through the powerful punches of the likes of Tommy Morrison, Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer. While Ron Lyle was able to temporarily knock down George in the greatest heavyweight fight of the 1970s, Foreman’s extraordinary recovery skills and indomitable will carried him through the unforgettable Yo-Yo fight.
UNITED STATES – JANUARY 15: Heavyweight boxing: George Foreman (right) in action, punching against George Cooney (left) at the Convention Center, Cooney’s last fight as a professional, Atlantic City, NJ, January 15, 1990 (photo : John Iacono/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set number: X39332 TK1)
14) Micky Ward – the timeless “Irish” fighter could never give up on sending shots
Micky Ward epitomizes resilience. Not only because of his fighting style, but also his persistence in overcoming many setbacks before Arturo Gatti starts fighting. Micky had an incredibly grueling 48-fight career before he finally made real money against his biggest rival. During these years of relative obscurity, Ward took part in one of the most brutal fights you could ever want to see, the 2001 Fight of the Year winner against Emmanuel Augustus.
Ward’s unimaginable victory over Alfonso Sanchez came drastically after he suffered such a severe beating that commentators, who later came to worship Micky, heavily criticized him and consistently criticized the continuation of the fight. But it was the three wars with Gatti, considered the most brutal trilogy in boxing history, that cemented Ward’s legacy as one of boxing’s most courageous fighters. In 51 fights, including some of boxing’s fiercest, Ward was stopped only once, on cuts.
Marty Rosengarten
Last weekend we saw three shows headlined by female boxers, something that would have been unheard of just a few years ago. The truth is that few female athletes attract immense crowds these days. For example, last Friday’s Dixon v Harper fight in Sheffield was for the world title but attracted less than 2,000 fans.
On the other hand, there are women who have a fan base that guarantees gigantic events and they pave the way for their lesser-known counterparts. Two of the biggest names in women’s boxing, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, made history as the first women’s fight took place in April 2022 at the legendary Madison Square Garden.
Their long-awaited rematch will be the co-main event alongside Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul on November 15. It hurts to know that these two pioneers will be sharing the stage with something that is ultimately just a gimmick. However, one can only assume that both will earn well and be exposed to a larger audience than ever before. The show will be part of the Most Valued Promotions (MVP) boxing partnership and will stream live worldwide on Netflix.
When a women’s fight is featured on the show, it’s often the funniest fight of the night. This has a lot to do with the structure of women’s fights: 10 rounds of 2 minutes each. This shortened format usually results in fast-paced and action-packed fights. While they may be more fun, some argue that elite women need more time to show their class. 20 minutes is just not enough.
Ultimately, women’s boxing is still a relatively recent sport and it would make sense to see progress in the way women’s fights are formatted. Why not try 10 x 3 minute rounds in championship fights? Amanda Serrano has been vocal about her desire to compete in the same format as her male counterparts, and last October she competed in the first-ever women’s boxing match played in a 12-round, 3-minute format. As a result, Serrano’s WBC title was not at risk as the sanctioning body refused to approve a longer format for women.
Katie Taylor tries to hurt Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said two-minute rounds provide more action and excitement, while longer rounds can lead to dehydration and fatigue. The question must be asked: Are we sure the same applies to our male athletes? The tiny format makes sense to support women’s boxing build an audience. It cannot be denied that the fights of our players in the tiny format have gained recent fans of the women’s game. But isn’t change part of progress?
An extra 10 minutes in the ring means boxers have more time to finish off an injured opponent, they have a greater chance of scoring a knockout, and fighters can execute their game plan. Longer fights would suit more elite fighters like Serrano, Shields, Taylor and Mayer and give them the opportunity to showcase their skills and boxing IQ.
We have seen that women are not afraid to take risks and do everything in their power to make gigantic fights happen, often jumping multiple weight classes to do so. They don’t really have the luxury of sitting back and waiting for recent opportunities to arise. The biggest fights happen when competition is involved. Some are lucky to have these rivals; others are not so lucky.
Claressa Shields is arguably the greatest boxer of all time (two-time Olympic champion, five-time world champion and self-proclaimed “GWOAT”), but she lacks a worthy dance partner who can match her skills and personality. This means it probably won’t get the admiration it deserves.
The next program of the season in Riyad will feature women for the first time in history: Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman. While I’m cheerful to see women’s fighting on one of the biggest shows of the year, I wonder why it took so long for women’s fighting to be featured on one of the season’s shows in Riyad?
Raven Chapman. (Photo: James Chance/Getty Images)
Hasn’t the entertainment and quality provided by female athletes over the last few years given them the opportunity to be part of these great spectacles? Is this just a box-ticking exercise? Only time will tell.
We can only hope that over time the divisions will fill up and we will see more fights that will attract the attention of fans. While women’s sport still has a long way to go and patience will be needed to reach its full potential, it is also clear that there is a clear double standard at play here.
Men’s sports are judged by their potential, while women’s sports are judged by where they are today. We must continue to invest time and money in the grassroots roots of women’s boxing and promote representation at the highest level. Ultimately, the progress of women’s boxing reflects the progress of boxing as a whole.
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