Quote Originally Posted by hitmandonny View Post
I think that a generalisation such as that is grossly unfair! Boxing has had a history of participants who come from uneducated backgrounds and ghettos yes, but that has no reflection on their intelligence or ability to chronicle their own life....
Furthermore, I find that the stereotypical "dumb" boxer is actually a lot more scarce than the articulate, worldly-wise veteran. Jack Dempsey was a saavy businessman after his retirement. Oscar De la Hoya is extremely intelligent. Floyd Mayweather has a sense of business and not just a boxing brain. etc. etc. etc.

If you were to find yourself in the situation that you needed to get to know a person in a certain amount of time and you had the option of reading a writers opinion of them or their personal diary, which would you read
If you attend a histrory lesson, often the first thing taught is the difference between a primary and second source. A primary source is something frrom the time, recorded by someone at the time of an events happeneing. A secondary source is a record compiled later by a writer.

Finally I stress the point...there is a monumental difference between uneducated and unintelligent.

I understand the differences you state perfectly. I just think it's kind of funny that out of the favourites you listed, not one of them was a primary source written by a boxer. I'd really like to hear of a great read written only by a fighter themself, I'm sure there are some.. But it's not unfair to say that someone who takes punches to the head for a living generally isn't going to be able to write well later in life. Even the fighter's you list as being intelligent, like I say.. I certainly wouldn't want to read anything written by DLH himself, and he's probably by far the most savy of those you said. Floyd Mayweather has business sense? I really don't see it, taking the highest payday for the lowest risk isn't exactly rocket science.. And he doesn't have any successful business ventures outside of boxing. I think he's an idiot aside from kinetic intelligence, which does count but hardly helps you to articulate anything. And yes there is a momumental difference between educated and intelligent... But you still need to have both to some extent in order to write a good book.