ABSTRACT
This article investigates discourses about boxing in the Italian immigrant press in São Paulo between 1920 and 1935 and their relationship with national identity formation among these Italian immigrants. The newspaper Il Pasquino Coloniale is a privileged source that allows us to construct a history of four boxers: Italo Ugo, Romolo Parboni, Erminio Spalla and Primo Carnera. Our analysis shows that the prizefighters were treated as representatives of the Italian nation and that the newspaper stressed the impact that boxing had on the collective representation and national identity of the Italian colony in Brazil.
Keywords:
history of sport; pugilism; Italian immigration; national identity; press