Rudy Mondragón

Dr. Rudy Mondragón is an interdisciplinary scholar who bridges ethnic studies with the sociology of race and sport to illuminate often dismissed sporting sites of resistance and the political economy of boxing. Mondragón has published in Kalfou: A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies, Journal of Sports History, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, and UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute. He is currently working on "On The Ropes: Performances of Dignity and Resistance within The Brutal Economy of Boxing," a book manuscript that examines the political economy of boxing and the ways Black and Brown boxers deploy expressive culture to perform resistance via the ring entrance. Dr. Mondragón is also working on "Rings of Dissent: Boxing and the Performance of Rebellion" (University of Illinois Press, 2025), co-edited with Gaye Theresa Johnson and David J. Leonard. As an authoritative voice in boxing, he has been featured in ESPN, Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Boxing Scene, CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Times and has written for Zocalo Public Square, LA Taco, Remezcla, and We Are Mitu. In 2021, actress, producer, and director Eva Longoria interviewed him for the Sundance-debuted DAZN documentary “La Guerra Civil,” a film that delved into Mexican and Mexican American identities and the iconic clashes between Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez. He also brought his expertise on boxing to Vice TV’s “Dark Side of the 90s” docuseries, where he was interviewed for the episode on Mike Tyson. Currently, Dr. Mondragón is directing the documentary "From the Fields to the Garden," which highlights the life and career of iconic Chicano cutman, Jacob "Stitch" Duran.