Fast-track fisticuffs? An ethnographic exploration of time and white-collar boxing

Wright, Edward J.

Abstract

Whilst white-collar boxing at first appears to be named according to the social class of its practitioners, this paper will argue that this initial appearance is misleading. Based on the analysis of 32 interviews and six months of ethnographic data collection at a boxing club in the English Midlands, it argues that white-collar boxers do not recognise the classed connotations of the term white-collar, to which sociologists tend to be accustomed. Within this lifeworld, white-collar has become a temporal signifier, referring to a version of the sport in which participation is for beginners and limited to eight weeks, culminating in a public boxing match in front of a large crowd. This eight-week participation model is outlined and identified as being drastically different from other forms of boxing, which are emblematic of modernity. White-collar boxing therefore provides entry into a wider discussion on the social construction of time. Acceleration and condensation of time are routinely discussed in this field, and it is suggested that a conceptual split between condensed and accelerated time allows for this white-collar boxing to be understood. Ultimately, white-collar boxing is theorised as the condensed reproduction of the idealised career of the professional boxer.

Citation

Wright, E. J. (2018). Fast-track fisticuffs? An ethnographic exploration of time and white-collar boxing. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 101269021881513. https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690218815139

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 31, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Nov 29, 2018
• Publication Date: Nov 29, 2018
• Deposit Date: Dec 18, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 1, 2019
• Journal: International Review for the Sociology of Sport
• Print ISSN: 1012-6902
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7218
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 101269021881513
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1012690218815139
• Keywords: acceleration; boxing; embodiment; ethnography; time; white-collar
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1420940
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1012690218815139
• Contract Date: Dec 18, 2018