WHATEVER fans may say, the popular image of boxing is that of a particularly brutal sport - pictures of a woozy Muhammad Ali or, more commonly, a battered and bloodied Robert de Niro in Raging Bull spring to mind.
But if the small core of enthusiasts at the Tiger Gym are anything to go by the negative stereotype is largely undeserved.
Located in a crumbling building in Tsim Sha Tsui, the gym is one of about a dozen devoted to boxing, both Western and Thai, in the territory. Prospective members get a taste of things to come when they climb the seemingly endless flight of steps to the seventh floor club premises. Think of it as a kind of warm-up. The training area is located on the roof, up a staircase in the front of the office. It is a spartan set-up, more like a shed, really, a corrugated steel roof over a metal skeleton and boarded up on three sides. A far cry from the glass and chrome of the city's trendy health clubs, but it provides protection against the elements.
Yet on any given week night, there is a sizeable group of enthusiasts polishing their feint and jab in the regulation-sized ring. A timer-controlled bell sounds every three minutes to simulate the intervals in a real bout. Others unleash potent kicks, or punch away at the sandbags suspended from the rafters.
And there isn't a pair of spandex shorts or vitamin-fortified juice bar in sight either. There is no air-conditioning or any sauna facility, so all the sweat comes from those blistering workouts. The few mirrors in evidence are strictly functional, strategically placed to help members to improve their technique, not accessories to narcissism.
The changing facilities consist of a small room in the seventh floor office area, where members can doff their street garb for shorts and T-shirts but most change in an open tiled area on the roof, in front of the training area. There is a bathroom for after-workout showers.
The sport is taken very seriously here, some members spending up to six days per week in training, whether for exercise or for greater glory in the ring. Sinewy bodies shadowbox to improve form while others slug it out in the ring. Still more can be found skipping rope, or heading out into the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui for a quick jog.