#386: The Rise and Fall of the American Heavyweight

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2018

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

With boxing on the wane in America for the past twenty some odd years, it’s easy to forget how much of a cultural juggernaut it was for much of the 20th century. Boxing was not only a common recreational pastime and athletic pursuit for young men, and a wildly popular spectator sport, it was a metaphor for manhood and other American cultural struggles as well. When two men stepped in the ring, it wasn’t just two men fighting. The bout could become a battle of white vs. black, nativist vs. immigrant, or democracy vs. fascism. My guest today, Paul Beston, explores the cultural history of the heavyweight boxer in his latest book: The Boxing Kings: When American Heavyweights Ruled the Ring. Paul and I begin our conversation discussing the man who created the archetype of the American heavyweight boxer, John L. Sullivan. From there, Paul takes us on a vivid historical tour of many of boxing's all-time greats, including Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, James Braddock, Joe Lewis, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. Along the way Paul provides insights how each of these heavyweight greats became conflicted symbols of masculinity in America. We end our conversation discussing why boxing has declined in America and what Paul has learned about being a man from writing about boxing. Even if you think you're not interested in boxing, you're going to find this show fascinating.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, Brett here. Before we get to this show, got a quick favorite to ask of you.
0:03.4	If you've been enjoying the Art of Manly's podcast, I'd really appreciate it.
0:06.4	If you take one minute, give us a review on iTunes or Stitcher. It helps us out a lot.
0:10.0	And if you've done that already, thank you so much. Please consider sharing the show with a
0:13.4	friend or family member. You think we get something out of it. Word of mouth is the primary way
0:17.5	the Art of Manly's grows and spreads. So please share. Text a friend, send a email, do whatever,
0:22.4	however you communicate. Tell them to check out a particular episode if you think they'd get
0:25.1	something out of it. Thank you for your continued support and now on to the show.
0:28.1	Have you ever wondered how Kobe Bryant became an Oscar nominee? Did he even know he was an
0:32.2	Oscar nominee? These are the kind of questions that Cal Fussman gets answers in two in his podcast,
0:36.2	Big Questions with Cal Fussman, bestselling author and Esquire columnist, Cal Fussman talks to
0:40.6	people who have lived extraordinary lives from Kobe to Dr. Oz to Tim Ferris. These are really
0:44.9	deep, thoughtful conversations and you'll end up with burning questions answered and a few new ones
0:48.8	to think about. Subscribe to Big Questions with Cal Fussman now in your favorite podcast app,
0:52.5	like Stitcher or Apple Podcasts.
0:58.5	Brat McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast. With boxing on
1:13.2	the Wayne in America for the past 20 some odd years, it's easy to forget how much of a cultural
1:18.0	juggernaut it was from much of the 20th century. Boxing was not only a common recreational pastime
1:22.6	athletic pursuit for young men and a wildly popular spectator sport, it was a metaphor for manhood and
1:27.6	other American cultural struggles as well. When two men stepped in the ring, it wasn't just two men
1:31.8	fighting, the bow could become a battle of white versus black, nativist versus immigrant or democracy
1:36.5	versus fascism. My guest today Paul Besin explores the cultural history of the heavyweight boxer and
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Art of Manliness, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Art of Manliness and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.