Why boxing is still a box office smash hit even as the sport’s popularity wanes | Emma John

Fighters have always provided rich material for stories on stage and screen and the appeal to audiences has not wavered Three of my greatest joys in life are watching sport, going to the theatre and playing violin.

So it felt almost embarrassing to discover a classic play that combined all three, yet I’d never heard of it before.

To be fair, Golden Boy has not been performed in the UK in more than 40 years and its curious premise may be one of the reasons.

Written in 1937, it’s about a gifted young violinist in Depression-era America who also has a talent for boxing and is lured away from music by the pursuit of fame and money in the ring.

In the current London production he is played by Josh O’Connor, who Knives Out fans have seen with his fists up as a boxer turned priest in Wake Up Dead Man.

O’Connor is no less convincing on stage than on film, attacking a heavy bag with the kind of power that does indeed make you worry for his precious hands. Nor is that ab definition entirely the work of a makeup artist.

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