Boxing and similar sports – society is able to look violence straight in the eye and pretend that nothing strange is happening. Two grown men climb into the ring, beat each other to a pulp, causing concussions and long-term health problems, while the crowd cheers. Commentators get excited. Fans talk about a “beautiful fight.” And all of this is presented as a sport.
If the same thing happened on the street, it would be a criminal offense. If one person beat another unconscious without gloves and rules, society would demand punishment. But when there are rules, sponsors, and cash prizes, suddenly it’s “discipline” and “mastery.”
Some people will surely take offense if this sport is called a fight. There is talk of traditions and self-control. But the fact remains: the goal is to cause enough physical harm so that the other person can no longer continue. Not symbolically. Realistically. With blood, injuries, and irreversible consequences. People pay for tickets to see two people systematically try to break each other, and call it entertainment.
This is not about sport. It is about how selectively people are able to justify violence if it is aesthetically packaged and culturally accepted. Boxing is no less violent because both parties “agree” to it. If two people can agree to do stupid and destructive things, that doesn’t make them reasonable.
One could say, “They know what they’re signing up for.” Yes, and that is precisely the core of the problem. A society that applauds such a choice is not morally “pure.” It has simply learned to call violence the norm when it takes place in the ring rather than on the street.