All sports contain the potential to transcend simply athletics and become a figure of the conflicts, mood and culture of a country in which they take place. One of these sports is the sport of boxing, especially during the mid-nineteenth century; the sport contains no equipment, little to no rules, and has a foundation that is easy to follow and understand. Boxing is simply two men clashing against each other with only their fists and the hunger for fame that follows victory. After migrating to America, the Irish remained impoverished and considered the scum of the earth by Native Americans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The large population of Irish immigrants in America were able to assert their membership in the American community through the sport of boxing due to their limited financial opportunities, desirable masculine attributes, and the entertainment they provided to the country through the media . Boxing was seen as a violent and harsh sport and those who participated, the boxers, were considered to have a strong sense of masculinity. And, by this point, the Irish had permeated American culture: “by 1860, Irish-born adults outnumbered native-born adults in fifteen of the city's twenty-two neighborhoods” (Anbinder, 149). Their growing numbers gave middle-class Native Americans a bad taste in their mouths, and the Irish were seen as cultural rejects and “other” immigrants. The Irish came to America in horrible financial conditions – with no jobs and no money – and the Irish fleeing the famine were the poorest. Without professional training they had to accept the lowest paid and most backbreaking jobs (Anbinder, 158). But these grueling conditions would lead to a better future. The long hours of manual labor produced Irish workers who were extremely fit and had a high sense of masculinity. “A lifetime of manual labor had prepared Irish athletes for grueling physical competition…when sports began to gain traction in American culture, the Irish, as a class, were better physically prepared than Anglo-Americans” (Dowd, 46). fit bodies, poor financial opportunities and ethnic stereotypes (i.e. violent, dirty and uncivilized) the Irish capitalized on this and used it to help them excel in their boxing careers. Bill Poole and John Morrison are examples of Irishmen using boxing to earn money. These boxers “went wild” on Amos Street for $100 while “shoulder and violent men of all kinds” watched (Sporting Intelligence, “Bill Poole vs. John Morrison Fight – Poole the Victor). Although this fight was not the boxing that we see today in entertainment, it was the beginning of something the Irish could use to gain social popularity The newspaper article from the summer of 1854 talks about this fight in an excited tone as it gives the contestants personality and a little fame Poole can be seen in the newspapers once again a year later, in 1855, when he is killed in a shootout on a street called Broadway. Once again, this newspaper highlights the emotion that Americans felt through the boxers. The article begins by saying: “Broadway, in the vicinity of Prince and Houston Streets, was the scene of a thrilling shootout,” the article later notes that such shootouts between boxers were not uncommon, “. . . but a repetition of a similar event that occurred a few weeks ago… between Tom Hyer, Lewis Baker, Jim Turner and many other well-known boxers” (“Terrible Shooting Affray in Broadway, Bill Poole Fatally Wounded”). This article not only shows that violence and rude behavior,.