#15: ‘Amateur’ by Thomas Page McBee

‘Amateur’ by Thomas Page McBee tracks the author’s journey from boxing as a means to test one’s limits, to white collar boxer, to being the first trans man to box on a bill at Madison Square Garden. I always enjoy stories in which amateurs describe their own relationships to and journey through boxing, as there are often many overlaps with my own experiences.

A particular highlight of this book is TPMcB’s description of, after visibly transitioning, being ‘read’ as a man, and suddenly experiencing much more aggression from other men. Obviously, most people experience the same sort of reactions and behaviours from others based on their own gender, so it’s often the experiences of transgender people which shine a light on how people are treated differently dependent on what gender they are assumed to be.

Another highlight was TPMcB relaying his concerns about sparring for the first time, not necessarily because he was worried about his opponent, but because he was worried about how he would react in the moment. I think it’s often forgotten that when adults take up boxing, many of their concerns about the contact side of the sport come from a lack of confidence in their own self-control, something that those boxing from a young age take for granted.