Geographical Review, 2014

THE URBAN GEOGRAPHY OF BOXING: Race, Class, and Gender in the Ring. By Benita Heiskanen. xvii and 192 pp.; bibliog., index. New York: Routledge, 2012. $93.36 (cloth), ISBN 9780415502269. One of the few memories from my childhood that still persists today is rushing to get my father’s newspaper off the front porch of our northern New Jersey home the morning of March 9, 1971. “The Fight of the Century,” Joe Frazier against Mohammed Ali in Madison Square Garden, had taken place the night before. Since that was a school night, I wasn’t able to stay up and listen to the radio broadcast. I was a fan of Ali, and hoped to see a headline proclaiming him as the undisputed world champion. But that was not to be the case. I unfolded the paper, and saw a large color photo of Ali, butt on the canvas, looking up at Frazier. Although my interest in boxing has waned over the past forty years, Benita Heiskanen’s The Urban Geography of Boxing reminded me of the excitement the sport generates and its significant role in American popular culture. It is also an informative and enjoyable read. Most important, the book is a welcome addition to the sparse state of existing literature on the geography of sport in the United States. Heiskanen’s research began when she was in the Ph.D. program in American Studies at the University of Texas. It includes participant observation as well as in-depth interviews with boxers, boxing insiders, and boxing observers conducted in Austin and San Antonio from 2000-2004. Heiskanen takes great care to remind the reader on several occasions of the organization of the book and the focus of each chapter. This is quite useful because there appears to be no apparent rationale for the flow of the material and discussion, neither chronological, spatial, nor organized around key individuals. There are no maps or photos; though not necessary, they would have added another dimension to the text. Direct quotes from the interviews with the boxers and others are liberally sprinkled throughout the book. These quotes are appropriately placed and enrich the relationships that develop between the reader and the subjects. The book has two emphases. The first is the boxers and their love of the sport, their commitment to boxing, their bodies, their identities, and their interactions with the other players in the boxing industry. Here Heiskanen reminds us of just how many players there are: trainers, handlers, matchmakers, promoters, athletic commissions, sanctioning bodies, sponsors, advertisers, and the media. There is a heavy emphasis on the Latino culture in boxing---not unexpected from research conducted in central Texas---and the unique perspectives of and

challenges faced by female boxers. The second emphasis is on boxing within the detailed context of space, as so much of boxing is spatially organized: the ring, the corner, the dressing room, the gym, ringside, and the arena. There is also a brief discussion of the importance of place, mainly focusing on the barrios of East Austin and boxing’s role in the Texas sports scene. Two chapters stand out as particularly fresh and informative. Chapter 1, “On the Barrio’s Ropes,” addresses the importance of boxing to the boxers and social order of the barrios of East Austin. The chapter goes beyond the traditional view of boxing as a ticket up and out of the ghetto. For the boxers, the sport helps to teach basic life skills and bring discipline to one’s life, even if the boxer’s did not aspire to become professional. Boxing promotes physical fitness, selfesteem, good sportsmanship, healthy eating and sleeping habits, and a host of other traits beneficial to leading a happy, normal life. It also emboldens an individual with a feeling of control over their life. This feeling is highly valued by the boxers, their families, and community leaders. And the gym provides a safe place from the outside realities of growing up in East Austin. Heiskanen quotes local resident Joel Elizondo saying, “in the gym, we all got along, working out, sparring, and everybody helping each other out” (p. 18). Movingly, Heiskanen notes “when asked about the most gratifying aspect of winning a boxing match or a title, many boxers come up with the following explanation: they can’t take it away from me” (p. 25). This chapter also examines the importance of place in the lives of these boxers. Austin is a tournament site in regional and state boxing. Teams come from different cities, and the team jackets are a source of pride for boxers: “they were being billed as representatives of the City of Austin---as opposed to East Austin” (p. 22). Travel to tournaments elsewhere in the state exposes the boxers to other places: “Beyond Austin, the boxers went on frequent road trips to compete across the state . . . In addition to the competition experience, the excursions provided an important site for exploration outside the boy’s everyday surroundings” (p. 20). Heiskanen states at the end of the chapter, “That is not to suggest that boxing only stands for such positive experiences as security, empowerment, and belonging” (p. 27). In fact, the accounts of Chapter 1 focus on amateur boxing. Heiskanen notes at several junctures that the more the boxing experience incorporates outside players and money, the more negative the takeaway for the boxer. The other chapter of note is Chapter 4, “The Limelight of the Ring,” where

Heiskanen examines a boxing match from the spatial standpoint. She goes beyond the standard analysis that would focus solely on the view of the boxer, to incorporate the spatial perspective of boxing’s other characters. For example, she recalls the weigh-in for a fight between Jesus Chavez and Gerardo Zayas. “The weigh-in, physical examinations, and press conference took place in a local Irish pub because the bout’s main sponsor, the beer mogul Miller Lite, insisted that alcoholic beverages be served” (p. 68). Heiskanen notes that the spatial components of the weigh-in are chosen for sponsors, promoters, and the media, but certainly not the boxers, who are often undernourished and dehydrated for the event. In addition, there is an interesting debate about the spatial organization of the boxing ring within the arena. Is the ring an oppressive space used for the surveillance of the marginal groups it exposes, or is it a podium for the boxer to exhibit his (or her) physical prowess and athletic skills to those in attendance? Also intriguing are Heiskanen’s discussions about the preferences of fighters for various sized boxing rings, and the relevance of a boxer’s space management and control in the use of the term “ring general.” The other chapters of the book are interesting and informative, if not as engaging as those mentioned. Chapter 2, “Wo/Manly Art at the Gym,” examines the more recent inclusion of women in boxing. Heiskanen creates a panoramic perspective to the topic, including the views of boxers, trainers, and promoters. Moreover, the narrative highlights the differences between men and women boxers in terms of opinions, behaviors, and challenges. Chapter 4, “Business Is Business Backdoors,” reminds us of the unsavory business and regulatory practices that have come to characterize boxing and detract from the sport’s popularity. Chapter 5, “Through the Media’s Lens,” scrutinizes the relationship between boxing and the media, primarily television. This chapter includes a relevant discussion on the use of ethnicity and gender in marketing the sport. The final two chapters tend to wander a bit from the book’s overall focus on boxers and the spatial aspects of boxing. Chapter 6, “Politicking in the Combat Zone,” looks at the relationship between boxing and politics, and boxing and the military. This chapter expands on the Heiskanen’s contention that “This junction is where we see an important spatial bridge between the seemingly distant elements within the margins of society and those within its most powerful centers coming together for a common cause” (p. 97). Chapter 7, “The Ivory Tower in

the Real World,” reflects on the opportunities, situations, and challenges that characterized this exercise of applying social science research to the world of boxing in Central Texas. Most interesting here is the ethnic, class, and gender identities of the boxers interacting with the identity of the researcher, a female graduate student from Finland. Anyone with an interest in boxing, the geography of sports, or cultural geography will enjoy reading The Urban Geography of Boxing. It may not get you to run out to your front porch for the morning paper to check the boxing results (if you are one of the few who still gets a newspaper). But it will remind you of why the sport had been, and may yet again become, such a captivating component of American popular culture. It will also remind you of how naturally sports and geography blend together.—Ray Oldakowski, Jacksonville University