battle royal

The boxing match scene represents the white man's power over the black race at the time. Whites usually had the authority to make black people do whatever they wanted, and the white blindfold that covered the fighters' eyes is a symbol for the blacks being manipulated by the white people into doing these things. The fight represents a struggle for dignity that the blacks are constantly taking part in, but by fighting this losing battle, they were in fact losing any pride that they had, rather than gaining respect. This paradoxical situation was likely what the white oppressors had in mind when they set up this boxig match. They wanted a laugh at the blacks' expense because they felt this race was inferior to them, which symbolizes slavery as a whole.