IN her most recent novel, Beautiful world, where are you?, Irish author Sally Rooney wrote: “Every day I wonder why my life turned out like this. I can't believe I have to endure this – having articles written about me, seeing photos of me on the internet and reading comments about myself. When I say that, I think: that's it? And what else? But the truth is, even though it's nothing, it makes me miserable, I don't want to live like that. When I submitted my first book, I just wanted to make enough money to finish the next one. I have never promoted myself as a psychologically strong person, capable of withstanding extensive public questioning about my character and upbringing.
“People who intentionally become famous – I mean people who, after experiencing a little fame, want more and more – I honestly believe this, are people with serious mental illnesses. The fact that we are exposed to these people everywhere in our culture, as if they are not only normal but also attractive and enviable, shows the warped extent of our social ills. . There is something wrong with them, and when we look at them and learn from them, there is something wrong with us.”
This passage, written by Rooney but delivered by her protagonist, reminded me of watching the first two episodes of the BBC documentary Steady: Boxing game, a fun and entertaining story about the day-to-day business at Shane McGuigan's boxing gym. Specifically, I was reminded of the end of episode one, when Barry McGuigan, Shane's father, spoke with typical candor and insight about the dangers of fame. “There is no doubt that fame is a drug,” he said. “If you think it isn't, you're fooling yourself. Because it is – it is To be a kind of medicine. You want to be successful. You want to please everyone. You want people to say, 'Wow, look how good it is!' That gives you a feeling of excitement.”
McGuigan, like Rooney, experienced and continues to experience fame as a by-product of his success in a personal and at times extremely lonely profession. One can be sure that it was neither a goal nor a dream when Barry started out in boxing, however history would show that not only was fame always a distinct possibility but it also depended on how he handles it, it will represent one of McGuigan's goals. biggest opponents and obstacles.
Indeed, that is the message the documentary wants to convey when raising this point. At the time, while we were listening to McGuigan, we were watching Adam Azim, an enthusiastic 19-year-old, drive to a bar to meet some friends. In the car, Azim, now 11-0 as a professional, said to the camera: “Every time I go anywhere, someone finds out who I am. A lot of people were taking pictures while I was sitting or doing something, you know? It's getting a little worse now but it will get worse eventually. But I'm ready for that. I just want to set an example.”
Exclusive: Azim in the gym with his trainer, Shane McGuigan (Boxxer/Lawrence Lustig)
To some extent, the inevitable is inevitable and Azim's words, spoken at the age of 19, could be attributed to any other young boxer who has also vowed to Use your reputation properly. Alas, it's one of those things, like childbirth or grief, that you can't really comment on with any kind of authority unless you've experienced it yourself.
For Azim, someone who has yet to go beyond the borders of the boxing world, it was easy to listen to others and their cautionary tales and promise never to get ahead of ourselves and suffer the same thing. However, it often happens that fighters tend to fall into similar pits, despite having seen them up close and knowing what can be found there. This is probably true for many reasons. Among them, however, is the fact that boxing is an individual sport and therefore its participants want and expect all the adulation to be theirs rather than shared. Typically, the fighters tasked with handling this praise and the resulting fame are young, immature and in most cases uneducated. They may be conditioned to throw textbook punches, but controlling emotions, resisting temptation, and how to treat people aren't necessarily lessons that anyone can learn. in the boxing gym.
There, in the gym, fighters tend to be alone; alone with their thoughts, alone with their fears. If you're lucky, as shown in Stable, they may be surrounded by trainers and fellow fighters, but even then the company is still largely a production company; based on their success as a boxer and their status in that room. In other words, fighters are by nature climbers – ratings, records and purses – and are better at connecting with punches than with people in the real world. After all, at every turn they are reminded that boxing is the loneliest sport and that no one can be trusted. Furthermore, they tell themselves that they are the best. Strongest. The strongest person. Strongest. They then seek confirmation of this from those around them – never the ideal basis for forming a relationship – and often receive it, especially if the compliments lead to criticism. favors, invitations or a taste of fame.
Meanwhile, for coaches, this makes them feel conflicted. On one hand, success and fame are exactly what they crave and desire for their fighters, however, on the other hand, the more they achieve both of those things, the more likely the fighter is to become corrupted. formal and strange; a far cry from the boxer and person the coach first connected with. Not true in all cases, no, this still tends to be the reason why the relationship between trainer and boxer goes the way it does and why the praise of others – outsiders sycophants – gradually become more attractive to a fighter than the praise of others. Praise someone whose opinion matters.
“You've seen all the hype around Adam, and now he's going to be pushed to become a pay-per-view star and a global star,” said Shane McGuigan. “I don't think he could walk down the street without being stopped. But he was only 19 years old (at the time of filming the documentary), so it was my responsibility to slow things down a bit.”
Normally, you would expect to hear such caution regarding a prospect meeting a future opponent or receiving their first title shot. Today, however, given world trends, the fight to keep a fighter grounded has, for the discerning boxing coach, clearly never been more difficult. With so many ways to know what the world thinks of you and now so easy to believe that you are important or special, winning this battle has never been more important.
