8/10/2011 Listening Lounge

BOXER BRIEFS

Before the Bell by Cally Carswell
Boxers at the Portland Boxing Club spend months and years preparing for eight minutes in the ring. We take a look inside the gym to find out what it takes to get to the fight.

Life Between the Ropes by Chris Ballman
A behind the scene sound collage of a boxing match. We'll start by hearing from the trainer, then we visit with the boxer, fight doctor, cutman, and card girls to find out what's so appealing about this brutal sport.

White Collar Boxing by Charles Lane
In Brooklyn's salty and dimly-lit Gleason's Boxing Gym, a new type of boxer is climbing through the ropes. Now senior citizens and those recovering from cancer are using boxing for their health. The problem is what they're doing is actually illegal because of very stringent "tuffman" laws.

Boxing for Girls by Amelia de Sousa
Gun violence in Brazil has turned Rio de Janeiro into a war zone. For young people who live in the slums - or favelas - crime offers an escape from a life of crushing poverty. But a boxing organization is trying to turn kids away from gangs. Even young women in Rio’s slums are fighting for a better future and breaking barriers at the same time.

Dambe in Sokoto by Sarah Simpson
Traditional "Dambe" boxing matches have been popular in northern Nigeria for generations. Though the number of matches being fought has declined, the type of people entering the ring has broadened. Instead of just butchers and slaughterhouse workers entering the ring, now a wide range of poor young men are boxing -- hoping to win some big prizes.