The world of movies gets a lot wrong about a lot of things. Usually it’s down to screenwriters who aren’t as familiar with the thing they’re writing about as their characters are (or should be, at least). A great example pf this would be all the many things movies get wrong about boxing.
The sport of boxing is a noble art. It can be elegant and brutal, often both, and usually in the span of just a few seconds. It’s one of the world’s most well-known sports, and its top competitors often rank among the world’s highest-paid athletes. In other words, boxing is a big deal.
Boxing movies have been popular ever since Rocky showed Hollywood how to do it. The dramatic potential of a good boxing story makes them some of the best examples of the sports movie genre. Sadly, these films have a number of preconceptions about the sport that aren’t quite right. With that in mind, here are 7 things that movies get wrong about boxing.
7. Boxers Aren’t Usually Violent People
Boxing movies are often very close to capturing this idea, but they always tend to fall short in one key way. Though boxing is undoubtedly a sport based around the science of violence, that doesn’t make boxers themselves thuggish or arrogant. In fact, most boxers aren’t actually violent people.
As a sport in which all competitors physically assault one another, boxing is built on respect. From the lowest levels of boxing, boxers are taught to respect their opponents and the skills that they’re learning, whether they’re in the gym or not. In short, being a boxer requires a massive amount of self-discipline.
Of course, there are violent boxers in the world who assault people outside of the ring. However, on balance, boxers are less likely to be violent, as the psychological aspect of the sport requires good control over the emotions. To that end, movies depicting boxers as bloodthirsty brutes really should try to get their facts straight.