Styles Make Fights: Fashioning the Male Boxing Body in Contemporary British Boxing Ring Dress

This study is an anthropological and cultural exploration of professional male boxers and their boxing ring dress. In boxing, once fighters have debuted and become professional boxers, they have complete creative expression in the ring and the economic means to hire a designer who will create their custom boxing ring dress. Objects of boxing dress such as boxing trunks, robes, boots, jackets, and trunks that are worn in the boxing ring often contain embellishments that are distinctive to the boxer’s history, race, sexuality, nationality, tastes, personality, and political position (Mondragon, 2021).

As a masculine institution and classed sport, objects of boxing dress can also be considered as gendered and classed material culture. Boxing ring dress can also operate as a subtle form of resistance and cultural activism, and in effect, can give a voice to marginalised men.
The research methods for this study are qualitative and mixed, combining semi-structured interviews with both former boxing champions and a former dress maker of boxing ring dress, with participant observation by attending live boxing matches at York Hall in east London, alongside an analysis of pre-worn objects of boxing ring dress at a sports memorabilia retail outlet in east London.

The study is underpinned by Raewyn Connell’s gender theory, in particular her notion of ‘Body Reflexive Practice’. This is combined with Bruno Latour's Actor Network Theory, which considers how objects become social actants working in relation to humans in society (Latour, 2005; Connell, 1995). It is hoped that this study will, through the narratives and stories that are embodied within boxing ring dress, provide insights into the lived experiences of working-class men. Findings aim to make a significant contribution to studies of fashion, gender, sports, and subcultural style.