Five Reasons Why Women Love Boxing Heroes Guest Post Vina Arno
Five Reasons Why Women Love Boxing Heroes
By Vina Arno
Why do men like boxing? I think it’s the same reason they used to gather behind the school at lunchtime when they were 10 years old. They wished they were the toughie giving the school bully a good whooping. They like watching a good fistfight. I understand that, but why do women love boxing?
In my case, many people have asked why I chose to write about a boxer in my debut romance book, In His Corner, published by Lyrical Press. Football, baseball, hockey, and even mixed martial arts heroes are popular in romance, but I chose a boxer instead.
Why Boxers Make Great Romantic Heroes
In my book, 22-year-old Tommy Raines, also known as the Juggernaut, is an Olympic gold-medalist boxer. He gets knocked out at first sight by the beautiful ER doctor, Siena Carr, who treats his cut. There were factors unrelated to boxing that inspired me to write the character, but the bottom line—a boxing hero is hot! Here are the five reasons why.
#1 Boxers are quintessential alpha males. As a romance reader and writer, I must start with the obvious. A boxer has enormous physical prowess. He’s physically fit—we’re talking rippling abs, taut biceps, and rock-hard body. In my book, Tommy is a 160-pound middleweight fighter. My editor asked, “Isn’t he rather small?” I explained to her the different weight divisions. Also, the Juggernaut is 160 pounds of muscles and sheer physical power.
By comparison, Floyd Mayweather at 146 pounds and Manny Pacquiao at 145 pounds are welterweight fighters. They belong to a lighter division than my romantic hero’s middleweight class. The undefeated Mayweather’s recent victory over Pacquiao has made him the world’s best fighter today.
If you want to get a picture of the size of a middleweight fighter, you should Google this name: Sugar Ray Robinson. He was middleweight champion five times between 1951 and 1960. Robinson, who died in 1989, was among the greatest fighters of all time. He was the boxer originally described as being the best, “pound for pound,” so we can thank him for that popular term.
#2 Boxers combine aggression with discipline. Aggression is not attractive. Thugs are not sexy. But a great boxer is the perfect combination of aggression and self-discipline. To win inside the ring, he has to train hard and stay healthy, follow the rules, and temper his aggression with the appropriate fighting skills. In romance, all of these things sizzle.
To distinguish a brilliant fighter from a brute, let’s consider Mike Tyson, who is both. There’s a big difference between the Tyson who knocked out Michael Spinks after 91 seconds in their 1988 fight and the one who was convicted of rape in 1992. The former was awesome, while the latter was a thug.
#3 Boxers embody the Rocky phenomenon. Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) is one of the most likable and sympathetic characters you’ll ever find. It’s hard not to root for the underdog, rags-to-riches hero of the movie franchise. Call it a stereotype or consider it a phenomenon, but the word “boxer” immediately brings Rocky to mind. I wrote my romantic hero in the same vein. Although the Juggernaut is a frontrunner and not an underdog, he has a blue-collar background. He becomes San Francisco’s favorite “homeboy” after his Olympic win catapults him into the boxing stratosphere.
#4 Boxers take the ultimate risk. Every time a fighter steps inside the ring, he’s putting his life on the line. On March 16, 2015, Braydon Smith, a 23-year-old Australian boxer died two days after he’d lost a 10-round featherweight match. He collapsed 90 minutes after the bout and never recovered. Unfortunately, there were many others who died because of a match. In 1930, Max Baer hit Frankie Campbell with such violence that Campbell’s brain was detached from his skull, causing his death. As the Juggernaut’s father says in my book, “Boxing is a combat sport; it’s not for wusses.”
#5 Boxing and boxers are exciting. When you sit down to watch two half-naked fighting machines trying to knock each other down, your adrenaline level will go up. Unlike other sports, you don’t even have to understand the nuts and bolts of boxing to enjoy it. The action unfolding inside the ring is clear. Add to that the big personalities of boxers and you’re guaranteed a thrilling time. The good looks of someone like Oscar de la Hoya and the charisma of a legend like Muhammad Ali are plus factors.
So, if the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight has left you wanting more, you could try a romance book featuring a hot boxing hero for an equally exciting experience.
In His Corner Description
WORK OUT
No sex for almost a year could kill a guy, but when you’re the boxer known as the Juggernaut, it’s the price you pay for turning pro. Tommy’s fully dedicated to his craft, until he meets the incredibly gorgeous Dr. Siena Carr. Now he’s looking forward to taking on this prim and proper lady in a wet and wild workout…
KNOCK OUT
Siena has seen many patients come through the ER, but none as sexy as Tommy Raines. With a nasty cut over his eye, she knows he needs stitches, but after he takes off his shirt, she needs some air. With rock-hard abs and taut biceps, it’s clear this man takes care of his body. And all Siena can think about is letting him take care of hers…
Buy Now
In His Corner is available at:
About the Author
Vina Arno is a pen name used by Cindy Fazzi, a Philippine-born American writer who has worked as a journalist in the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States. Her short stories have been published in the Snake Nation Review, Copperfield Review, and SN Review. Her debut romance, In His Corner, was published by Lyrical Press, an imprint of Kensington Publishing, in April 2015.
Connect with Vina Arno at:
[…] Read the explanation for each of the five reasons on Romance Junkies. […]
Many thanks to Romance Junkies for having me today!
Cheers,
Cindy Fazzi aka Vina Arno