Music has played an important part in sports for hundreds of years, from the Super Bowl halftime show to the World Cup official anthem. Certain songs immediately conjure up memories of your favorite sporting events.
Music plays a vital role in combat sports, too, including boxing. The ring walk music used by famous fighters over the years has become legendary. The right track can send a chill down the spine of an opponent or get the crowd up out of their seats. The ring walk song is so noticeable. We saw Canadian betting sites offer odds on the tune a heavyweight champion would walk out to.
Your fight song
The ring walk is a favorite discussion of boxing fans as well as fighters. Even if you haven’t ever laced up a pair of boxing gloves and have no desire to get punched on the face in front of thousands of people, the chances are you know what your fight song would be.
An inspiring track that would help drive you to victory, winning a world championship bout fought out entirely in your mind. The crowd would be chanting and celebrating as the arena lights dimmed and your song began blasting through the speakers.
Do you have a fight song? Below we live five of our favorites that have been used by some of the sport’s biggest names over the years. You could find your inspiration from those below, or they could even help create a decent playlist ahead of your next visit to the gym.
Tina Turner – “The Best”
We’ll start with Tina Turner’s The Best, and it’s no shock to see this one on the list. Many boxers have used it over the years, but some have been more able than others to live up to the promise of being ‘simply the best’.
One fighter made this song his own, however, and that was Britain’s, Chris Eubank. The English gladiator’s approach to the ring was in perfect time with the song before making a dramatic leap over the ropes and flex as Tina belted out the famous line. Eubank often threw in a hard stare at the man standing in the opposite corner, just for good measure.
Meek Mill ft. Rick Ross – “Ima Boss”
Unlike Eubank, the self-confessed ‘Best Ever’ Floyd Mayweather didn’t stick to one anthem during his career. Instead, TBE changed up his ring walk music to suit the occasion and reflect his mood.
He came out to an intense version of Ima Boss when fighting UFC star Conor McGregor in the summer of 2017. The lyrics were even adapted to include mention of Floyd’s skills and power. It certainly had the desired effect, with Mayweather scoring an easy win over Notorious to send his opponent scurrying back to MMA.
“Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor
Are you even a boxing fan if you don’t love Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger track made famous by the Rocky movies starring Sylvester Stallone? We’d say no, of course not. This is the ultimate boxing song, although it’s linked closer to Hollywood than the noble art.
Manny Pacquiao did adopt Survivor as his walk tune, and, as you can imagine, it got the crowd’s attention whenever it was used. The great thing about Eye of the Tiger is, as well as being a track that unites boxing lovers across the globe, it’s also very inspiriting and would have helped Pac Man get into the zone for the battle that lay ahead.
Stormzy – “Shut Up”
Far more modern than those mentioned above, Stormzy provided the track for world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for his fight against long-term rival Dillian Whyte. The relevance of the title wasn’t lost on anyone before AJ scored a stoppage win.
2Pac – “Road to Glory”
What would the baddest man on the planet’s song be? We know the answer to that as Mike Tyson walked to 2Pac’s Road to Glory, which was a perfect match for the heavyweight wrecking ball. The song was written by 2Pac for Tyson and used when the American slugger faced Britain’s Frank Bruno in 1996.
