Boxing is one of the most photogenic sports, and I think the reasons are many. To me, it’s the purest sport of all — it’s completely unmetaphorical, man against man without all the pomp and circumstance. It’s your body and your will against another’s. Football, soccer, baseball, tennis — next to boxing, they look effete and precious. The men who box are fighting for, sometimes literally, their lives. Many of them come from desperately poor backgrounds and the only means available to them to escape poverty, is sports.

I don’t know where the kids in smith’s photo set of boxing photos are from, but it’s incredibly powerful to see these young kids taking up the gloves and showing their hearts. Their families stand ringside, holding their trophies, cheering them on. Ringside is great work.