‘White Collar Boxing’ is a strange phenomenon – think ‘Fight Club’-inspired bored bankers and city boys ‘n’ girls wishing to let off some steam and perhaps fix a rivalry or two. All done in the time-honoured fashion of smashing each other in the face with padded gloves in a ring while your friends urge you forwards from the side. Of course there is more to it than that, including a fair smattering of controversy. A good article can be found HERE
I recently got a call from a fellow photographer and good friend Anders Birger to shoot on a fight-night for White Collar Boxing in London. Anders got the pre-fight training and I got the sweat, blood and gore! Thanks!
I was warned there may be blood and it proved to be so. The fighters aren’t joking around and come out of their seats with menace in their eyes and fists ready. And that’s just the women! Three rounds doesn’t sound like much but from my vantage point I could see the tiredness in the arms after just one. The guard starts to drop and thats of course when the punches land. Photographing this stuff is difficult. The fights are hard and frenetic, the lights are strong but pretty much in your lens all the time, but luckily one gets the best vantage points; right by the ringside and on the ropes. I worked with Status Magazine from Brazil and you can read the story (in Portuguese) HERE
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