dance around and toward

[Mike Hussey]

ANNOUNCER: On a perfectly clear night in Las Vegas...and with the expected crowd of celebrities and eager sports fans...piling into the MGM Grand golden arena, the two best heavyweights in the world...prepare to meet after an eight-month dance around and toward each other.

What does "dance around and toward" mean?

Source: Ocean's Eleven (a 2001 American heist film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Ted Griffin)

 

[GoesStation]

What do you think the announcer might mean? Look at the phrase after an eight-month dance around and toward each other.

 

[Mike Hussey]

What do you think the announcer might mean? Look at the phrase after an eight-month dance around and toward each other.

I tried: The meaning is what the boxers were doing, walking around like a circle, the video shows it at 0:50

(or)

It means they did not meet/have an event together during the 8 months. It usually means to avoid an issue.

 

[GoesStation]

I tried: The meaning is what the boxers were doing, walking around like a circle, the video shows it at 0:50

(or)

It means they did not meet/have an event together during the 8 months. It usually means to avoid an issue.

Good. In an eight-month dance, "eight-month" is an adjective modifying "dance". Which activity might continue for eight months?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I tried: The meaning is what the boxers were doing, walking around like a circle, the video shows it at 0:50

(or)

It means they did not meet/have an event together during the 8 months. It usually means to avoid an issue.

Although the boxers in the video are dancing around each other, that's not what the quote means.

It also doesn't mean they're avoiding an issue.

The announcer is being figurative. For months, the boxers have been winning fights with other boxers. As they win those, they come closer and closer to fighting each other.

Tonight, they're going to face each other at last. They've been moving closer and closer to this fight for eight months, and now they're finally going to be in the same ring.