Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
May 5, 2024

Desire for violence evident from boxing match-up

By DEVIN TUCKER | April 9, 2015

Ever since the beginning of time, man has had to utilize some form of violence in order to survive, thrive, rule and make peace.

The concept of violence is a hard one to grapple with, and people have wide-ranging opinions on its use and its relative prominence in the global community. Although there are many advocates of peace, the concept of violence tends to remain embedded in each person’s inner conscience.

Violence stands as a central part to our existence, and has remained an inherent trait that has been passed down to each person through subsequent generations.

From playground fights to organized sports, people flock to any sort of violence to watch the outcome. I can’t explain exactly what is so enticing about the capacity of violence, but millions of people, from the Roman Empire to present day, have loved watching others battle for domination through physical contest.

This point rings home through the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquio, which is estimated to be the most viewed and highest-priced pay-per-view event of all time.

In today’s culture, social media has become an almost universal tool that gives people access to all walks of life that they would otherwise never see.

This ability to view acts of violence in remote parts of the world tends to dull the capacity of people to see violence. Before the Internet and the great capacity of social media, people tended to foster a greater reaction to violent conflict, but today’s society moves violence to produce more polarized opinions.

Whether people despise it more or are more prone to accept it, people are still intrigued by its concept.

The battle between Mayweather and Pacquiao, which will take place on May 2, will produce a spectacle that entices millions of people to see two equal opponents battling for victory.

Although Mayweather is undefeated, Pacquiao seems to be the favorite because of his capacity for a greater gain than loss, which further attracts people to the conflict.

Mayweather is the highest-paid athlete of all time, which proves the popular desire to watch such a high level of organized violence. Whether it’s some inherent nature of humans or just the desire to see an equal matchup in a sport dominated by alpha males, this fight will go down in history as one of the best of all time.

This fight produces further implications and serves as an interesting case study as to Mayweather’s decision to fight.

Although Pacquiao has everything to gain and little to lose, Mayweather really has nothing to gain from the competition. Mayweather currently sits on an undefeated record and could be considered one of the best boxers of all time.

The fight against Pacquiao could only diminish his status and not really raise it, and it is very interesting to consider why he would take the fight. His decision to take it rings true with society’s desire for violence.

Mayweather has been avoiding this fight for a long time, but the pressure from the general public for him to fight Pacquiao shows that he needs their approval and praise in order to consider himself the best of all time.

It’s obvious that people believe it will be a fair matchup, and Mayweather must battle Pacquiao in order to erase any shred of doubt that he can beat anyone, thus buying into society’s desire to watch two evenly matched people fight to satisfy their inner desires and adrenaline.

It will be a very interesting fight to watch, and the winner will go down in history in one way or another.


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