Rings of Dissent

Boxing and Performances of Rebellion

Rudy Mondragón, Gaye Theresa Johnson, David J. Leonard

• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN:
  9780252048425
• Print ISBN:
  9780252088988
  9780252046865
• Subtopic: African American Studies

Professional boxers practice their trade within an ostensibly apolitical arena. In reality, however, the fighters work inside a capitalistic and neoliberal sports culture that they both challenge and uphold. This collection delves into professional boxing's capacity for brilliance, contradiction, resistance, and complicity. Scholars, activists, and artists explore the boxing ring as a site for understanding original and diverse ideas about the performance of race, citizenship, gender, power, and dissent. Essays and interviews draw attention to the cultural politics and performances of marginalized boxers while revealing the structures of power and practices of agency at work around Black, Brown, and queer bodies. As the contributors establish boxing's central place in communities of color, they open exciting new avenues for studying race, immigration, gender, and capital. Multifaceted and innovative, Rings of Dissent uncovers fascinating corners of the boxing world as it illuminates what the sport tells us about America. Contributors: José M. Alamillo, Roberto José Andrade Franco, Gaye Theresa Johnson, Javon Johnson, Priscilla Leiva, David J. Leonard, Kyle T. Mays, Rudy Mondragón, Louis Moore, Mark Anthony Neal, Lucia Trimbur, and Dave Zirin

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword Dave Zirin
• Introduction. Rollin’ with the Punches: Boxing, Struggle, and Dissent Gaye Theresa Johnson, David J. Leonard, and Rudy Mondragón
• 1 Passing and Prizefighting: Ralph Dupas’s Fight to Be White Louis Moore
• 2 “Fighting 4 All Nations”—A Conversation with Kali Reis Rudy Mondragón and Gaye Theresa Johnson
• 3 “Fighting 4 All Nations”: Boxing and the Indigenous Heritage—Reflections on the Kali Reis Conversation Kyle T. Mays
• 4 “There Is Just Something Different about Watching a Woman Be Able to Beat the Shit Out of Someone”: Gender, Boxing, and Fandom—A Conversation with Jessica Luther David J. Leonard
• 5 Down but Not Out: Mexican Prizefighters and Struggles against US Immigration during the 1930s José M. Alamillo
• 6 The Great Off-White Hope Roberto José Andrade Franco
• 7 “Yo Soy José De Avenal”: The Deployment of Expressive Culture in Disruptive Ring Entrances Rudy Mondragón
• 8 “‘I’m the Greatest. I’m the Best.’ That Bravado, That’s Hip-Hop”—A Conversation with Jasiri X Rudy Mondragón and Gaye Theresa Johnson
• 9 Why Gyms Matter: Boxing and the Struggle for Los Angeles Priscilla Leiva
• 10 Boxing as an Art for Community Engagement—A Conversation with Khnum Muata Ibomu Gaye Theresa Johnson and Rudy Mondragón
• 11 Solidarity or Sanction: The Moral Economy of the Urban Gym Lucia Trimbur
• 12 “Boxing Is Essentially Exploitation”: Labor, Value, and Narrative Structures in Boxing—A Conversation with Max Kellerman Rudy Mondragón
• 13 “Sincerely, These Hands”: Mayweather, Money, and Masculinity Javon Johnson
• Coda: Beyond the Dreams of Gold Medals and World Titles David J. Leonard, Gaye Theresa Johnson, and Rudy Mondragón
• Afterword: Weary, Resigned, Ready Mark Anthony Neal
• Acknowledgments
• Contributors
• Index
• Back Cover