The Beltline: While performing in a six-round game, Michael Owen recalls celebrating when he scored against a kid

“Good job, he thirteen,” groaned Neville Southall as he watched Michael Owen roll away to celebrate a goal against the young goalkeeper Southall was mentoring Owen’s. football skills show in 1999. Told with no small amount of emotion and disdain, the reminder of the boy’s age, a detail that concerns all but Owen, won’t stop the show’s star from raising his hand, smile for the camera or have fun. That didn’t stop him from saying, without a hint of irony, “Games, setups and combinations, Owen,” and inadvertently crafting a video clip destined to go viral years later.

The reason why is clear. With just four words, Southall managed to convey his feelings for both Owen and the larger issue of irrational celebration. Meanwhile, Owen, either lacking the self-awareness to realize this or not caring, conveyed, in glee at the way he had done, the kind of carefree and ruthlessness that had made him what he was. Such a great scorer.

Of course, some athletes can turn this faucet on and off, while others, like Owen, find it more complicated. For some people who struggle, a string of competition and a constant need to win is the foundation of their personality; in some cases, usually cost one.

In boxing, we see a version of this video every time an extremely talented and hyped prospect gets into a duel against an underpowered opponent. Usually, this happens – and gets caught in the throat – at levels four and six rounds, where there is little danger coming back to them and therefore almost no chance of changing the owner of the humiliation. . That’s why it looked so ugly, no different from Owen’s celebration in the face of a child.

On the one hand, it seems that boxers do not show superiority in this way, as their dominance is established not in the fight itself but when the fight begins; when the story in the tape reveals the gap between them and the opponent through a series of numbers. In addition, given the inherently violent nature of the sport, there is bound to be cruelty to the idea of ​​showing the companionship of a superior opponent; a ruthlessness that even surpasses that of Owen mocking a child. After all, consider the physical pain an opponent will experience in that moment, not to mention the psychological pain of embarrassment, be it in public or on television for millions of people to watch at home. It couldn’t be nice, to be treated this way. Furthermore, these sensations associated with baiting are not the kind of feelings that the expected laner’s opponent will feel when agreeing to join the fight and provide this novice expert with rounds. . Being beaten and left in physical pain are occupational hazards; symptoms of the sport and their role in it. But to be humiliated in a way that demeans their role in the sport – something priceless – is pain they should be protected at all times.

Naseem Hamed in the ring against Cesar Soto in October 1999 (John Gichigi /Allsport)

Then again, maybe it’s too idealistic to think that. Maybe, given the fact that some of our most respected fighters are celebrated for their games of wits and their ability to take risks on match night, we should reduce the slack of the braggarts. present day and consider them only part of a long lineage. For example, men like Ben Whittaker, who was fired for toying with Jordan Grant last Saturday, made little new forays with his behavior, nor offered it. any kind of envelope. Now, despite only having three games in his professional career, he has been clearly compared to “Prince” Naseem Hamed, who of course has been around for so long before Whittaker and for what it has given him. his reputation, which inspired a series of copies that followed. Therefore, blame Hamed or Muhammad Ali if you have a problem with someone like Whittaker who is currently trying to present himself in the same way. Also blame yourself for once entertaining those men and now making entertainment a key component of a hurt business.

Because, apparently, Whittaker’s desire to be seen and become a meme or a viral video clip stems from the idea that today boxers have to be “personalities” or “brands” like any other. any kind of ostentatious legacy. After all, he’s just another victim of the social media age; this era in which everyone has the opportunity to be the center of their own universe and see the rest of the world as just a supporting role. Whittaker’s behavior, at least in the ring, reflects that. Most of all, he wants you to notice him and he wants these early skirmishes, all so ordinary to the point of being boring, to represent something greater than a single word.” W” could predict otherwise in his professional record.

In some ways, it’s also a wise approach. He is mentioned, positively or negatively, and he, like Hamed, and like Chris Eubank, will become a fighter that fans will (a) remember and (b) want to see, to see. he continues to win or get his favor. That, in an age of apathy, short attention spans, and millions of other screen-based options, is paramount for a boxer with a television background. If in doubt, think how Whittaker’s bizarre antics against Grant, 6-3 (0), were perfectly contextualized with a relatively lighthearted performance produced by Joshua Buatsi during the event. main lasted 10 innings of the night.

Of the two, needless to say, Whittaker will be the one to inspire everyone to tune in again next time. He also does enough, Whittaker, both during the fight and after the match is over to get him to be missed by potentially fans by his vulgar displays of strength. For example, between silly poses, he has a tendency to throw eye-catching punches and even end fights, habitually preferring to use fanfare to simply cover up technical flaws or lack of action. killer instinct. Also, when it’s all over, and he’s both confounding his opponents and stopping them, he tries to visit his defeated opponents and show them the respect they not only deserve but even undetectable in Whittaker’s attitude during the match itself.

If nothing else, this shows that Whittaker’s desire to emphasize his superiority through ostentatious display is not an attempt to make others feel inferior but an attempt to advance himself, to create perspective and ultimately having fun doing something that others consider dangerous and scary. You, the purist, and they, the opponents, have every right to hate him for it. But, as with anything in life, hate must first be followed by an attempt to understand.