Wild Bulls, Discarded Foreigners, and Brash Champions: US Empire and the Cultural Constructions of Argentine Boxers

Abstract

With the exception of Hollywood films, there has been no more intense point of cultural contact between Argentina and the United States than boxing. This article considers two intertwined topics. The first is the construction of the imagery of Argentine boxers in the United States and the varieties of Argentine boxers’ immigrant experience in North America. Second, this article will argue that the presence of Argentine boxers in the United States forged a sense in Argentina that the former were leading actors on the American boxing scene. This, in turn, shaped Argentine boxing cultures and self images.