And ahead of the unveiling of the Ken Buchanan statue in Edinburgh we’re thinking today. Out the box pugilist statues.
Rock’n’roll in Philly
Rocky, Philadelphia: And with apologies to Tim Witherspoon, Bernard Hopkins and Philadelphia Jack O’Brien (the clue is in the title…
It’s all about Rocky Balboa… and you can get your selfie with the Great Man at the top of his steps in Philly and you don’t have to the run.
On a pedestAli
Muhammad Ali: And the best Ali statue is in sports-mad Philly which immortalises the great duel with adopted Philadelphian, Joe Frazier at the Joe Hand Gym.
Being Ali, we’ve counted 85 statues of Ali around the world, and of course you’ll want to see him in his hometown of Louisville.
And that means the Muhammad Ali Center in the Kentuckian town.
Alexis the Great
Alexis Arguello, Managua, Nicaragua: And the late great Nicaraguan was a man difficult to worked up to dislike.
No trashtalking here with Alexis always making a point of asking his opponents how their family is… before beating them up.
And on one occasion, Glasgow’s own, Jim Watt, who I’d fanboyed in a record store and wished good luck for his next fight.
Which was… Alexis Aguero.
The Merthyr Matchstick
Johnny Owen, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales: And we’d probably never have heard of Merthyr Tydfil, 23 miles north of Cardiff, were it not for one brave Welsh fighter.
Owen was given his idiosyncratic nickname on account of him being 5ft 8ins and 8st.
And his courage was his undoing when he was knocked unconscious in a world bantamweight title fight in LA and died from his injuries.
Johnny though lives for ever in the hearts of Merthyr (population 50,000) where he shares centre stage with Howard Winstone and Eddie Thomas.
Classical fighters
Boxer at Rest, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome: And, of course, we’ve been boxing the ears off each other since when Cain struck Abel.
And our Greek (Olympics) and Roman friends loved their prize fighters.
With the statue Boxer at Rest still captivating and informing us about the ancient Romans.
Of course, the Romans were bare-knuckled fighters and it’s how we all start in the playground.
Of all places Belfast is where you’ll find the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame… Belfast, New York, that is.
The most famous stock of bare-knuckled boxers on the planet are, of course, the Fighting Furys.
Now it’ll probably take years to sculpt a 6ft 9ins and 20st statue.
But we rather like this interpretative statue of the Gipsy King in his hometown of coastal Morecambe in Lancashire.
Just a sample then of our faves. Out the box pugilist statues.
And remember none of us are free of anachronistic statues until all of us are free of anachronistic statues and we get the icons we want.
