Showdown at UKWH
Bo Bearly vs AJ Nasty, #063 - Bo Bearly's Boxing Bonanza (UKWH)
Mismatched opponents Bearly and Nasty have opposing strategies for combat readiness. Mars Bars or protein drinks? Couches or weights? Videogames or punching bags? Bearly welcomes viewers to the Boxing Bonanza while, behind him, Nasty does crunches. Neither takes the other guy seriously as a fighter, so the only way to settle the matter is to square off against each other and fight.
This is the first match of Bearly's I've seen. In the opener, he's a wry but cordial host. I didn't expect him to be as poised and genteel as he is (initially, anyway). He's pretty sure of himself, convinced that his rotund body is capable of finishing off a gym bunny like AJ. In turn, AJ mocks Bo. Like Bo, he's convinced that he is the better man with the better body and the better fight.
I am pretty sure I know how this battle will pan out, though I'm willing to set my prejudices aside in "willing suspension of disbelief," to quote Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who also wrote "What Is Life?" - a crisply short poem that ends with the lines
All the thoughts, pains, joys of mortal breath,
A war-embrace of wrestling Life and Death. 1805 (1829)
The match delivers more pains than thoughts or joys, but Coleridge rightly identifies all three as the essence of life. I'll say this much - without spoilers: The match was different than I thought it would be ... better, too.
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Your review of Bearly's match is condescending and poorly written. Quoting Coleridge in a wrestling review? Lord help us all.
ReplyDeleteYeah, maybe, but at least I have the balls to sign my name to the stuff I write.
DeleteI've always been impressed with your writing, Joe. It's engaging and personal. And why not quote Coleridge?
DeleteBecause it's pretentious and makes me roll my eyes.
DeleteMy name is Michael Barrows-Fitzgerald. I think your review is mean spirited and pretentious. Am I not allowed an opinion, good Sir?
DeleteAbsolutely, Michael. I liked the match and both of these wrestlers. I don't consider it mean-spirited or pretentious to quote Coleridge. I don't see the offense. Whatever weaknesses the post might have, they are not worth you're troubling yourself over. Naturally, you are under no obligation to like my writing.
Delete