PEEK-A-BOO BOXING STANCE

Oct 30

Peek-a-Boo, 34 inches x 48 inches, oil on paper, © Leslie Parke 1996 — *Peek-a-Boo,* 34 inches x 48 inches, oil on paper, © Leslie Parke 1996

For Cus d’Amato, the first order of business for his fighter's was for them to defend themselves. He developed a style of boxing called "peek-a-boo", where the fighter kept his head protected at all times by holding his hands up on either side of his face. Cus spent time teaching the fighters exactly the angle at which they needed to hold their gloves so that a punch would glide off the outside of the glove and miss their head. Ah, if there were only such a thing to protect artists from their critics.

Cus was also credited with Mohammed Ali's "rope a dope" strategy in his fight with Foreman. George Foreman's punching strength was unparalleled. If Ali were to come after him full force in the early rounds, Foreman would have quickly worn him out and then knocked him out. But hanging back and letting Foreman punch unopposed for several rounds, Ali was able to tire Foreman out, so that once exhausted Ali could come on with full strength and dominate him. It was a risky strategy, as Foreman could easily have broken Ali's upper arms with his punches. But it didn't fail, and the rest is history.

As an artist, I had my eyes on my own champions George Bellows and Thomas Eakins. Well, not a bad showing for a girl.