Watching a fight on television has always seemed to me a poor substitute for being there. For one thing, you can't tell the fighters what to do. When I watch a fight, I like to study one boxer's problem, solve it, and then communicate my solution vocally. On occasion my advice is disregarded, as when I tell a man to stay away from the other fellow's left hand and he doesn't, but in such cases I assume that he hasn't heard my counsel, or that his opponent has, and has acted on it. Some fighters hear better and are more suggestible than others - for example, the pre-television Joe Louis. "Let him have it Joe!" I would yell whenever I saw him fight, and sooner or later he would let the other fellow have it.
- A.J. Liebling, The Sweet Science, p.15 in The Sweet Science & Other Writings
No comments:
Post a Comment