30 years of Street Fighter, 30 Days of Characters; #22

Boxing characters are as old as the fighting game genre itself. Every generation of the Street Fighter series has featured at least one boxer. In the original Street Fighter (1987) it was a scrappy young man named Mike. No doubt influenced by Mike Tyson, the young heavyweight champion. In Street Fighter II (1991) the boxer had grown up and went by the name M. Bison, as in Mike Bison. At least that was his name in Japan. As you already know the Shadowlaw boss names were swapped around when the game came to the USA. Did you know that Mike was not the original choice for a boxer in the Street Fighter II? In the planning stages the designers were looking at a classic boxer named Jack Dempsey. Jack was active from 1914-1927, he was notable for winning and defending a championship, being the first fighter to break a million dollars at the gate and ranked among the best of all time. Dempsey influenced the character Makounochi Ippo in the manga and anime Hajime no Ippo. He uses the "Dempsey Roll" a nonstop barrage of punches and dodges to take down opponents.

The boxer for Street Fighter II was called Dick Jumpsey but he seemed a little bit antiquated. That was why a more contemporary Mike Tyson served as the template for Bison. The seeds for a classic boxer had been planted at the Capcom offices. It would take a while for that archetype to return. Many studios had their own variation of a boxer. Most wore shorts or training clothes. They looked exactly like a pro fighter should have in the current era. That was until 1997 when Street Fighter III debuted. The gentlemanly boxer Dudley was literally cut from a different cloth. He was an aristocrat that happened to be a boxer. He traveled in luxury automobiles, with butler Ortho K. Gotch at his side. He fought while wearing fine suits, he simply rolled up his sleeves when it was time to teach an opponent some manners. There were no fighters before or after that had as much personality.  

Dudley was a change of pace from the thuggish boxers that had taken over the world of pro fighting. Loud braggarts like Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. that flashed their money and acted questionably seemed to hold the title forever. When classy fighters Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis captured heavyweight gold in the '90s it was a refreshing change of pace. Dudley was created as a reflection of this new reality. Of course he was a way over-the-top in his mannerisms and ability. There has never been a character as eccentric as him and there probably never will be again. Because of this we want to celebrate Dudley on Street Fighter's 30th anniversary. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!