Prizefighting and Civilization: A Cultural History of Boxing, Race, and Masculinity in Mexico and Cuba, 1840–1940

Abstract

Cuba and Mexico have two of the richest pugilistic traditions in the world, let alone Latin America. The former country has produced boxing legends like Kid Chocolate and Teófilo Stevenson, while the latter is home to world champions like Rubén Olivares and Julio César Chávez. In Prizefighting and Civilization, David C. LaFevor examines the roots and development of boxing in both nations through the lenses of gender, nationalism, and the public sphere.Prizefighting and Civilization centers on the development of prizefighting culture in Cuba and Mexico from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Although different in geographic size and demographics, both nations share a Spanish colonial past and a close proximity to the United States that made them susceptible to US economic and cultural influence. The emergence of boxing in both societies was contentious, with intellectuals like Justo Sierra and José Martí expressing their disdain for the “barbaric” Anglo-Saxon sport. However, a transformation took place, and by the early 1920s both nations had boxing commissions; by the late 1920s and early 1930s, Cuban and Mexican boxers became viewed as national heroes and paragons of masculinity and nationalism. According to LaFevor, during this time “prizefighting . . . destabilized local expressions of manliness by framing that identity within transnational vernaculars” surrounding boxing in both nations (p. 4). This analysis draws from Jürgen Habermas's and Pablo Piccato's notions of the public sphere and from R. W. Connell and James W. Messerschmidt's concept of hegemonic masculinities.LaFevor's investigation of this development of national prizefighting cultures divides into six chapters, a photo and image essay, and a brief conclusion. The first chapter serves as the introduction, laying out the book's argument and framework. The second chapter centers on the rise of boxing in Mexico from the Porfiriato (1876–1911) to the end of the Mexican Revolution (1920) and the Mexican responses to this emergence, which ranged from concerned to accepting. This chapter highlights the role that Afro-descended boxers like Billy Clarke played in promoting the sport and also draws attention to the exploits of Mexican boxers like Fernando Colín, Salvador Esperón, and Enrique Ugartechea, who become symbols of Mexican virility. The third chapter moves the focus to Cuba, tracing the development of boxing in the nineteenth century and the turn of the twentieth, with emphasis on gymnasiums and body culture. According to LaFevor, by the early twentieth century “boxing emerged as a contentious symbol of cultural imposition” from the United States (p. 101).The fourth chapter examines Jack Johnson's 1915 championship bout in Havana against Jess Willard and highlights discourses about both race and women's attendance at boxing matches during that period. The fifth chapter traces the consolidation of boxing as a Mexican activity, examining Mexican responses to Argentine boxer Luis Firpo's 1923 bout against heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and the increasing popularity of the boxer as an archetypal figure in Mexican cinema. The sixth chapter examines the development of boxing in 1920s Cuba, with a particular emphasis on Cuban responses to the Firpo-Dempsey bout. For many Cuban sportswriters, Firpo stood as a positive example of Latin American masculinity. The chapter also briefly analyzes the rise of Afro-Cuban boxer Kid Chocolate as a symbol of national pride.Analyzing archival evidence from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States as well as periodicals from ten nations, Prizefighting and Civilization fills important gaps in the sport historiography of Cuba and Mexico. For Cuba, the book provides a deep analysis of the roots of sports before US occupation, which is understudied. Regarding Mexico, this work establishes a narrative of boxing's development from the Porfiriato to the Second World War. The book's most groundbreaking aspect is the highlighting of the contributions of Afro-descended foreign pugilists to the sport's growth there. In addition, LaFevor's analysis of Mexican and Cuban depictions of Luis Firpo as a symbol of Latin American virility offers a new perspective on the Argentine prizefighter.Prizefighting and Civilization provides the reader with a myriad of primary sources as well as a large cast of characters, including boxers, “professors” of sport, and journalists. Although enlightening, this abundance of information at times interferes with the book's narrative and analytical arcs. Also, a stronger conclusion could have informed the reader more clearly about how the public sphere shifted local notions of masculinity and virility and whether boxing shifted the public sphere in the book's two case studies. That said, the original research and accessible writing will make this book an attractive option for undergraduate and graduate courses on Latin America, sports, and gender.