Rohan Jain
‘Southpaw’ is a redemption tale of a boxer, Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), who loses his career and family after a tragic incident. When Miguel “Magic” Escobar (Miguel Gomez) repeatedly provokes Billy to fight him, it leads to a hostile confrontation, which turns Billy’s life upside down. The boxing champion loses his fighting license, and child services take his daughter away. The events make Billy introspect, and he sets out to regain what’s truly his.
In the film, Miguel Escobar seeks a shot at the world title, but his ways are conniving and cheap. The Colombian boxer behaves in a cheeky way, which reminds us of various real-life sports figures who showboat and bait their opponents. These traits make us wonder if Miguel “Magic” Escobar is based on a real-life person. Let us find out.
Miguel “Magic” Escobar is a Fictional Character
Miguel “Magic” Escobar from ‘Southpaw’ is not a real Colombian boxer. Although there is a real-life boxer named Miguel Llampa Escobar, the character is not based on him in any way. Written by Kurt Sutter, ‘Southpaw’ is a fictional story inspired by the real life of rap artist Eminem. While the character of Billy Hope is based on the rapper, the other characters, including Miguel “Magic” Escobar, are fictional.
Miguel Escobar carries several tropes of the classic antagonist in a sports-drama movie. He is sly and provocative and knows to exploit the protagonist’s weakness well. Although Miguel and Billy encounter each other only a few times, the former manages to destroy the latter with merely a few words. Miguel’s arc reminds us of Viktor Drago from ‘Creed II.’ When Miguel throws an open challenge to Billy after the latter retains his world title, it takes us to how Viktor challenges Adonis Creed after he becomes the world champion.
However, the way Miguel and Viktor’s arcs progress are quite different. On the one hand, Miguel takes away Billy’s most precious thing without even entering the ring. On the other hand, Viktor manages to bring Adonis to his knees in a fair manner. Besides this, Miguel causes far more damage to Billy’s life than Viktor does to Adoni. Thus, in a way, the fight between Miguel and Billy is more personal. One thing that sets apart Miguel and Viktor is their history with Billy and Adonis, respectively.
While Viktor is fighting something more meaningful, Miguel merely wants to win the title by hook or crook. Thus, when compared, Miguel as a person, seems to have lesser layers than Viktor. When it comes to the fight in the ring, Miguel goes toe to toe with Billy. Despite no history with Billy, Miguel has a certain flare in his eyes while boxing the former champion. In these moments, we see subtle hints of a person who is more than just a showboater.
The way Miguel maintains eye contact with Billy right from the moment he enters the ring is reminiscent of the classic rivalry between real-life boxers and MMA fighters. How Miguel tries to bait Billy into giving up his defensive stance is a technique several boxers use in the ring. It is also a reflection of who Miguel is outside the ring. Thus to reiterate, Miguel is a fictional character who carries subtle nuances of boxers while possessing tropes of classic antagonists within the sub-genre.
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