Boxing. World heavyweight title belts. A toxic love affair.
Me: Last night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk defeated Britain’s Anthony Joshua to retain his world heavyweight titles. As a boxing fan….
1st Person: You’re not a boxing fan
Me: Shush. That’s not the point.
1st Person: Eh?
Me: As a boxing fan I can say it was one of the biggest and best boxing matches in the history of puglism.
1st Person: Pugil what-ism?
Me: It’s a fancy word for boxing. Anyway, Joshua has been a household name since 2012. British sports promoter Eddie Hearn….
1st Person: Is he the one that looks like a pimp?
Me: ….Eddie Hearn says of Joshua, “He has made boxing the size it is and we need to be thankful for this guy and give him that respect.”
1st Person: Netting $75 million for the fight is pretty respectful. In Jeddah for the cheddar yo.
Me: Whatever. Anthony Joshua is admired and respected for his charity and community work across the country, as well as backing Black Lives Matter and the fight against racism.
1st Person: Shame he don’t link racism with other forms of discrimination like sexism and homophobia. In Saudi Arabia where he fought, women are widely discriminated against and homosexuality is punishable by death.
Me: Politics and sport don’t mix.
1st Person: Come again?
Me: Joshua sacrificed a lot for this fight. He ended his 10-year relationship with trainer Rob McCracken and chose a new trainer Robert Garcia.
1st Person: Sacrificed a lot? Oleksandr Usyk is a military volunteer in Ukraine’s territorial defence battalion.
Me: The fight was a must win for Anthony Joshua as he looked to reclaim his world heavyweight titles. After the defeat an emotional Joshua threw two of the world title belts out of the ring. The phrase, “If I can’t have you, no one can,” springs to mind. Who cannot relate to that?
