Foxy boxing is a form of

sports entertainment Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competition, competitive event using a high level of theatre, theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertainment, entertaining an audience. Un ...

which involves two or more women

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

(or pretending to do so) in a sexualized context as a form of erotic entertainment. The participants are typically dressed in revealing clothing such as

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...

s or skintight

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, and lo ...

s, while the actual fight usually focuses on the beauty of the combatants rather than fighting skills. Foxy boxing is unusual in that the audience generally does not care who wins. It is believed to have its roots in "singles' bars in southern California" after the interest in women's boxing began to decline in the late 1980s. The mainstream competitive sport of

women's boxing Although women have participated in boxing for almost as long as the sport has existed, female fights have been effectively outlawed for most of boxing's history until recently, with athletic commissioners refusing to sanction or issue licenses ...

has tried to avoid association with foxy boxing but the successful female boxer

Mia St. John Mia Rosales St. John (born June 24, 1967) is an American professional women's boxing, boxer and former World Boxing Council (WBC) champion in the super welterweight division. She is also the IBA and IFBA lightweight champion. She is also a model, ...

emphasised her sexuality by appearing on the cover of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine. It was a popular entertainment used in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

for military men in the 1980s and 1990s. It included both boxing and wrestling and the women were expected to "draw blood and show bruises before they got paid". Foxy boxing was also utilized by bar owners in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

for the same type of audience. The style of fighting was formed into a new genre by David Borden, into what came to be known as

Kaiju Big Battel Kaiju Big Battel is a performance by the New York City based performance entertainment troupe created by Rand Borden. The performances are parodies of both professional wrestling and the ''tokusatsu'' ''kaiju'' eiga films of Japan. These Battels ...

, which was staged fights with a heavy

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

and pop culture influence. Although foxy boxing is more of an entertainment spectacle than a sport, it has resulted in injuries. A foxy boxer at a high-end strip club in Rhode Island sued her employer after her silicone breast implants were ruptured in a fight. The class action suit ruled her employer liable.

Media and popular culture

The sport is frequently referenced in

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

: *Homer Simpson on ''The Simpsons'' mentioned it three times: In the season one episode " Homer's Night Out", "Foxy Boxing" is one of the places where Homer and Bart stop at in their quest for

Princess Kashmir The American culture, American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even ...

. On the season six episode "

Lisa on Ice "Lisa on Ice" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was the first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on November 13, 1994. In the episode, Lisa discovers that she ...

", he tells Lisa that "if the Bible has taught us nothing else--and it hasn't--it's that girls should stick to girl sports, such as hot-oil wrestling, foxy boxing, and such and such." Later, on the season 12 episode "

Tennis the Menace "Tennis the Menace" is the twelfth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 2001. In the episode, the Simpsons build a t ...

", Homer builds a tennis court, only to learn that tennis is not the same as foxy boxing (or as he calls it, "the sport where the chicks whale on each other"). *The ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

'' episode "Boxing Luanne" centered on

Luanne Platter ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. The main characters are Hank Hill, Peggy Hill, Bobby Hill, Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, Jeff Boomhauer, Luanne Platter, Nancy Gribble, Joseph Gribble ...

thinking she has taken up mainstream women's boxing, only to find she has been underwritten by

Buck Strickland ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels. The main characters are Hank Hill, Peggy Hill, Bobby Hill, Dale Gribble, Bill Dauterive, Jeff Boomhauer, Luanne Platter, Nancy Gribble, Joseph Gribble, ...

for foxy boxing. * ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'' season one episode 9 "Glades" contains a scene of two women foxy boxing approximately 9 minutes into the episode. The owner of the club promoting the event even refers directly to the sport stating, "Foxy Boxing is what's in now". * In the final episode of the TV Series ''

Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. The show is set in a suburban high school near Detr ...

'' (Discos & Dragons, Season 1, Ep. 18)

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...

's character Ken is thrown out of a disco club for causing a scene and making fun of disco music. As he's being escorted from the building, the bouncer at the disco club tells him not to worry too much because the disco will be shut down the following week in favor of foxy boxing.(29 October 2010)
Revived and Derived: "Freaks and Geeks" Ep. 18, "Discos and Dragons"
, ''

Independent Film Channel IFC (formerly known as the Independent Film Channel) is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks, originally launching in 1994 as a TV channel devoted to independent films. The Independent Film Channel originally operated as a com ...

'', Retrieved November 24, 2010 * On the March 17, 2010 episode of ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'', Jon Stewart compares the U.S. congressional debate over health care reform to foxy boxing. *In the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...

'' episode "

Baby, You Knock Me Out "Baby, You Knock Me Out" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of the animated comedy series ''Family Guy''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 14, 2010. The episode follows housewife Lois after she is convinced to bec ...

Lois Griffin Lois Patrice Griffin (''née'' Pewterschmidt) is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. She is voiced by Alex Borstein and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in a 15-minu ...

starts her "boxing career" as a foxy boxer. *In Season 2, Episode 5 of ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

'', Kenneth throws a party rumored to have foxy boxing. *In ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...

'',

Barney Stinson Barnabus Stinson is a fictional character portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris and created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series ''How I Met Your Mother'' (2005–2014). One of the show's main characters, Barney is known f ...

is a fan of foxy boxing. * In Season 2, Episode 6 of '' Happy!'', one of the main antagonists states that

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

seems like foxy boxing compared to calcio storico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foxy Boxing Boxing Sexual fetishism Sports entertainment

Media and popular culture

See also

References