Though there is much to admire about a sport in which words such as courage, tenacity, honour, skill and determination are given physical meaning, there is also a dark side to the culture surrounding boxing which is increasingly incompatible with social mores in the 21st century.

Boxing does not and cannot exist in isolation from society, even if it would like to, and it is incumbent on promoters, boxing writers and journalists, as well as trainers, to draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

Yes, a fighter is no ordinary athlete. The primal aspect of the game, involving unarmed combat, dictates that the norms of polite society have little place in the psychological armoury of a man preparing to meet an opponent in the ring to essentially punch him more than he gets punched. There is no escaping the violent intent that lies at the heart of any boxing bout.

But if it is to remain a sport, subject to the constraints required to raise it above the level of the gutter, there has to be an understanding that racism, homophobia and every other prejudice associated with the uncultured and ignorant has to be confronted.

There are too many incidences at press conferences or during interviews where fighters go off on expletive-riddled rants that contain more offensive bile than you would find in your average prison cell. 

I have encountered it myself — recently as it happens — when I challenged a journalist over an interview he conducted with a certain fighter, which descended into a litany of homophobic references and insults towards a rival. When I challenged the journalist about it, lamenting the fact he chose to post the interview on Youtube, I was made to feel like an unwelcome gate-crasher at a private party — the inference being that in the context of boxing this sort of rhetoric is part and parcel, even a welcome antidote to the stifling constraints of wider society.

The sport cannot afford this luxury, neither can society, for if prejudice and bigotry is allowed to exist anywhere it might as well exist everywhere.

The struggle for equality, dignity and tolerance in this country has been long and tireless. No one is exempt from this struggle and nor should they be. 

You can either take a stand against prejudice or allow it to prosper. Boxing, like every sport, must reflect this struggle. What it cannot be allowed to do is step aside.

The tradition of the fighting family in boxing is a long one. The Klitschkos, who between them dominated the heavyweights for close to a decade, until Vitali retired in 2013, are perhaps the most widely known example of this aspect of the sport.

When it comes to British boxing the family fighting tradition has its very own status. Great British boxing brothers include Chris and Kevin Finnegan, Ricky and Matthew Hatton, and Amir and Haroon Khan. Then of course we have the father and son tradition, which in the Britain involves Brian London and his son Jack, Alan Minter and his son Kevin, Chris Eubank and Chris Eubank Jr.

Currently it is the Smith brothers in Liverpool who are keeping the family boxing tradition in Britain most alive. 

Their success is nothing short of astounding when you consider there are not just two Smith brothers presently fighting at the highest level as professionals, there are four — Paul, Stephen, Liam, and Callum. 

Out of them, Paul is the current British super-middleweight champion, Stephen holds the super featherweight title, and Liam has the light-middleweight strap. 

Paul, the eldest, only recently lost a controversial points decision to WBO super-middleweight champion Arthur Abraham in Germany. 

Yet he only considers himself to be the fourth-best fighter in the family. It is the youngest brother Callum (pictured) who is considered the best of the bunch. 

As with his older brother Paul, Callum fights at super middleweight and looks to be one of the most exciting British prospects in many a year, tipped for a future world title in the not too distant future.

The four brothers are very close and train under the same roof at Amir Khan’s gym in Bolton, where under the guidance of trainer Joe Gallagher they are part of probably the most exciting stable of fighters anywhere in the country at present.

Theirs is a remarkable story of boxing success within one family, one that surely demands to be told in the form of a book or a film, even a play, somewhere down the line.

Another domestic grudge match has sold out weeks in advance. 

This time it is the second instalment of Nathan Cleverly v Tony Bellew, which will be fought out at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on November 22.

Last time round it was the Welshman Cleverly who emerged with the victory, winning a unanimous decision after a fiercely contested battle in 2011 at light heavyweight. 

They fought in Liverpool then and will be returning next month to resume matters, this time at cruiserweight.

Bellew is one of British boxing’s more colourful characters. 

A proud Scouser and passionate Evertonian, he wears his heart on his sleeve, with political correctness words of a foreign language. Consequently, a Bellew press conference is never a dull affair. 

This time round though we are seeing a much more mature and composed character than we’ve been used to in the past. 

This was evident in the opening press conferences to promote the fight, one held in Wales the other in Liverpool, where both fighters managed to avoid the usual histrionics and aggro — certainly compared to previous occasions when these two have come face to face.

Bellew harbours a genuine dislike for his Welsh rival, which isn’t reciprocated by Cleverly, who is undoubtedly the more talented boxer of the two. 

That said Bellew can hit, and if their last fight is anything to go by, the rematch is one to look forward to.