ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a study conducted in 1980-1981 which sought to penetrate the hidden world of the boxer, to reveal the sub-cultural context and patterns of interaction through which inner-city youngsters become professional fighters. The study based upon a two-year-long investigation into the workings of an inner-city boxing club in the north east of the United States. Throughout history, alongside, but less visibly than recognised institutional avenues, sports have provided an ongoing and varied context for the construction of distinctive social networks and the inspiration for a rich cultural tradition. A sub-culture is the social product of people who find themselves at a common point, and confronting common problems and opportunities, within a complex webbing of social structures and ideological representations. The push of inner-city youth culture in the development of a boxing sub-culture is augmented by the sport's traditional affinity with the urban poor.
