BoxRec

Hey guys

I am curious to know if there were many pugs that were slaves, during that period in American history.

To my understanding Tom Molineaux was a freed man, but were there many bouts put on between slaves and slaves against 'whites' and so on.

Thanks again.

Kym

Hi Kym:

Elliott J. Gorn notes in his book, The Manly Art - Bareknuckle Prizefighting in America:

"That masters had slaves fight each other is a common motif in Afro-American and white southern folklore, and such fights probably did take place. . . . However, there is no substantial proof that the practice was widespread. Except for white tough-and-rumble fighting, boxing was not particularly popular in the pre-Civil War South. Even brutal masters recognized the need to protect their investments, and in the name of productivity slaveowners generally discouraged violence among their bondsmen. Promoting fights would have undermined the discipline they sought to bolster."

Pages 34-35.

I hope this helps.

Thank you for that.

It is almost like a throw back to Romes gladiators, in a sense.

As an aside, Ken Norton was in a couple of movies that depicted a ''circuit' involving slave owners matching their best fighting men against each other. One film was called Mandingo I believe though it is many years since I saw it.

Don't worry, I am not going down the Elma path and getting fact and fiction confused. The whole scenario in the film may well just be fantasy.

Id imagine it was.

I have seen snippets of that movie. Looks interesting more to see Norton 'act'

raylawpc wrote:Hi Kym:

Elliott J. Gorn notes in his book, The Manly Art - Bareknuckle Prizefighting in America:

"That masters had slaves fight each other is a common motif in Afro-American and white southern folklore, and such fights probably did take place. . . . However, there is no substantial proof that the practice was widespread. Except for white tough-and-rumble fighting, boxing was not particularly popular in the pre-Civil War South. Even brutal masters recognized the need to protect their investments, and in the name of productivity slaveowners generally discouraged violence among their bondsmen. Promoting fights would have undermined the discipline they sought to bolster."

Pages 34-35.

I hope this helps.

that makes a lot of sense. Anyone wanting more info on slavery and its economic background should IMO go to Eric Williams' Capitalism and Slavery, and David Brion Davis' Inhuman Bondage

thanks again guys

The Land of the Free

Indeed