Sam Borden (ESPN, 6/03/18); Pfc. Sandoval, S.Auberon, C. Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The New Hooligans of Russia
Bare-knuckle hyper-masculinity U.S. style |
Over nearly four decades on earth, while living in half a dozen cities and two countries, whether employed or not, happy or not, sober or not, I have never -- not ever -- punched someone. Have you?
Macho Dictator Vlad "KGB Spy" Putin |
He says he has been punching people for years, says he loves punching people, says it is part of his identity. He thinks I am an alien, basically, and that a man without scars on his hands is no man at all.
It's freezing! Can our brothers handle a cold Pussy Riot? |
He is studying to be a graphic designer, and he loves surfing. He also has an affinity for poetry (including Pushkin and Yesenin, who wrote about, among other things, hooligans in the early 1900s).
Vova enjoys literature, particularly the writings of famed German novelist Erich Maria Remarque. In a coffee shop one afternoon, we briefly debate The Night in Lisbon versus All Quiet on the Western Front. (Lisbon is his favorite book of all time.)
What are you homophobe idiots doing? |
These fights almost always take place in the woods, away from the eyes of the police (or anyone else, really). These fights have no written rules or regulations, have no certified referees or officials, and while it is generally considered gauche to murder someone at one of these fights, everything short of that is pretty much fine.
Pussies riot. We fight bare-knuckle in the US. |
"So," I say to this teenager one evening in the center of the city, "what are you like when you're in a fight?" Vova is smart and earnest, with a fresh face, thin eyes, and a soft nose. His waist is tiny and his legs are spindly, giving him the bony look of a high school cross-country runner. "In a fight, everything is different," he says. "It requires anger, some kind of rage or something like that."
Leningrad is now called St. Petersburg. |
The woods, he says, is where he lets the rage out, where he immerses himself in something that "strengthens the mind."
American John Sullivan bare knuckling, 1900 |
He does not hesitate. "Well, because when you see people coming at you," he says, "not just one or two people, and you know they are about to kick you in the face and it'll be painful, you don't run away." More
- Leerla en espaƱol
- U.S. legalizes bare-knuckle boxing in 2018
- This story appears in ESPN The Magazine's June 18 World Football issue
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