1. Read what Mike Tyson once said and comment on it.
2. Watch the famous boxing incident and say how the both boxers felt (outraged; self-confident)
Here are three idioms related to anger:
Blow one’s top - This means to become furious, often suddenly. E.g., She blew her top when he arrived home late.
See red - He was seeing red and demanded immediate action.
Bite someone’s head off - He nearly bit his opponent's head off.
3. Read and answer the questions below.
Do you think boxing should be banned?
Why do you think people do boxing?
What are positive aspects of boxing?
Do you agree with the following: boxing involves intricate footwork, precise punches, and defensive maneuvers. It’s a mental chess match.
Additional task
Boxing Vocabulary List
word | example sentence | meaning |
|---|---|---|
bare-knuckled | Bare-knuckled fighting was popular until the nineteenth century. | without protective gloves |
block | He could block most of the punches, but some got through and hit his face. | use the hands, arms and shoulders to stop punches from landing on the face or body |
blow | A blow to the stomach can make it difficult to breathe. | strike or hit; punch with a clenched fist |
bout | Mike had his first bout in professional boxing when he was sixteen. | organized fight in boxing or wrestling |
clinch | Both fighters were tired and clinching too much, so the referee told them to "break". | lean on and hold one's opponent instead of fighting |
combination | His best combination was a left jab followed by a right cross, and then a left hook. | series of punches thrown in sequence |
counterpunch | After throwing a right hook, he left himself open and got hit by a strong counterpunch. | punch thrown after an opponent has thrown a punch |
cross | An orthodox boxer usually throws a cross with his stronger right arm. | a straight power punch thrown directly at the target |
fist | He raised his arms and held his fists in front of his face to protect himself. | tightly closed hand with the fingers bent in towards the palm |
foul | The referee warned Mike after he threw another foul punch. | unfair act or un-sportsmanlike conduct |
gloves / boxing gloves | Boxing gloves help to prevent damage to the hands, especially the knuckles. | protective padded coverings for the hands, usually made of leather |
head-butt | The referee stopped the fight after a head-butt opened a cut over Ali's left eye. | foul of hitting an opponent with the head |
holding | After warning Joe for holding several times, the referee deducted points. | foul of preventing an opponent from punching by holding their arms against their body |
hook | He finished the combination with a right hook to the jaw. | short sideways inside punch delivered with the elbow bent |
jab | Fighters use the jab to earn points, but it's not a powerful punch. | quick punch with the leading hand, straight from the chin to the target |
kidney punch | Referees disqualify fighters who use kidney punches to hurt their opponent. | illegal blow to the lower back which can damage the kidneys |
knockdown | A referee usually starts an eight count after a knockdown. | occurs when a boxer is hit and any part of his body, other than the feet, touches the floor |
knockout / KO | He has won seventeen fights, thirteen of them by knockout. | occurs when a boxer is hit hard and loses consciousness |
low blow | The referee stopped the fight to let Harada recover from a low blow. | foul blow to the area below the stomach, including the genitals |
match | Our son won his first boxing match last night, and we're very proud of him. | an organized contest between people or teams |
neutral corner | He went to the neutral corner and waited for his opponent to get up off the floor. | corner of the ring a boxer must go to after knocking down an opponent |
parry | He stood on the ropes with his gloves up, parrying the punches as they came. | fend off punches with the gloves |
promoter | The fighters said the promoter didn't pay them as much as he said he would. | company or person who finances and organizes a sporting or entertainment event |
punch | People say he can't take a good punch, and is easily knocked out. | strike with a clenched fist |
rabbit punch | Dirty fighters try to hurt their opponents with illegal blows like rabbit punches. | illegal punch to the back of the head or neck which can damage the spinal cord |
ring | The fighters climbed through the ropes and into the ring. | raised square platform on which boxing matches are held |
ropes | Ali would stay on the ropes and wait for his opponent to wear himself out. | lengths of strong cord enclosing a boxing ring |
rounds | In men's boxing rounds last for three minutes, but in women's boxing they last for two minutes. | time periods in a boxing match for fighting, separated by one-minute breaks |
southpaw | Good boxers know how to deal with any opponent, including unorthodox fighters like southpaws. | left handed fighter who jabs with the right hand and throws power punches with the left hand |
sparring | He was one of Ali's regular sparring partners. | when boxers make the motions of boxing without landing heavy blows, as a kind of training |
split decision | It was a close fight, and the winner won it on a split decision. | occurs when two of the three judges score one boxer as the winner, while the third judge scores the other boxer as the winner |
standing eight count | The referee checked the fighter during the standing eight count, and then let him continue. | occurs when a boxer looks hurt and the referee stops the fight and counts to eight to see if he can continue |
sucker punch | I was hurt by a sucker punch that got me in the stomach when I wasn't looking. | unexpected punch that catches a boxer by surprise |
technical knockout / TKO | Robert says he would have won the fight if it hadn't been stopped on a technical knockout. | occurs when a fighter loses because a legal punch causes a cut, usually on his face, that stops the fight |
unanimous decision | He won the fight easily and got a unanimous decision from the judges. | occurs when all three judges agree on who is the winner of a fight |
upper cut | My best punch was an upper cut that hit him on the jaw and nearly knocked him out. | upward punch aimed at the jaw or the stomach |
weight classes | Boxers sometimes move to a different weight class, often to a heavier one. | competition divisions based on weight, such as "heavyweight" |
weigh-in | The boxers tried to upset each other with insults at the weigh-in before the fight. | pre-fight meeting for boxers to be weighed to make sure they are within their weight class limits |
