The Boxing Champion

Laurence Steven is Chairman of the English Department at Laurentian
University and author of Dissociation and Wholeness in Patrick White’s
Fiction.

Carrier, author of the multi-award-winning The Hockey Sweater, has
scored again with The Boxing Champion. This time he takes the clichéd
98-pound-weakling story and makes it over hilariously. The story
concerns a young boy who wishes to prove himself by beating an arrogant
family of bullies in the annual spring bouts to become the town’s
boxing champion. He invests in a mail-order body-building course and
purchases some barbells. All winter he secretly works on his body and
practices his boxing technique. When the time comes for him to challenge
for the title, the outcome is swift and decisive: he is knocked out by
the first punch. Yet all is not lost, for his actions have attracted the
attention of a girl; he feels a new interest beginning.

The story is ostensibly written for boys aged 8-12, although the
younger ones may not be pleased with the ending, given their usual
attitude toward girls. However, the story would just as easily be
enjoyed by an adult: Carrier’s tone quite consciously invites adults
to grin along with him at their former selves. The visual imagery will
appeal to readers of any age: “Our ice forts were melting like cheese.
Our snowmen were collapsing like fat drunken men.”

Cohen’s distinctive illustrations take their lead from Carrier’s
story and give it a unique character. Bright primary colors, sharp
contrasts, unorthodox perspectives, and remarkable detail make the small
Quebec community come to life with a charm similar to that of William
Kurelek’s work for children. The humorous story and illustrations
complement each other perfectly. The Boxing Champion is a winner.