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THE HISTORY OF BOXING

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

• Muhammad Ali

 

Along the history of its development, boxing has undergone numerous changes. Even the name evolved: pugilism, Western Boxing, prizefighting (when referring to professional boxing) or “the sweet science” and many more.

In its most general meaning, the term “boxing” is “the sport involving attack and defense with the fists”.

If we take a more a closer look, the definition would be much more detailed and vast. It is a sport and martial art in which two participants of similar weight fight each other with their fists in a series of one to three-minute intervals called «rounds». In the modern sport, boxers wear padded gloves and the competition is divided into a specified number of rounds, usually 3 minutes long, with 1-minute rest periods between rounds.

Modern boxing has a strict division into professional and Olympic fighting. And it is also notable that the XX century rules are determined to a great extend by the rules and regulations rooting in 18th and 19th centuries, and some principles were founded even earlier, in the ancient world. Several highly influencing organizations determined to manage and control the rules of fighting and other important aspects emerged, as boxing turned from a hobby into professional sport, martial art and show business.

There are several points of great interest in the history of boxing and none of them is less valuable than the others. From the ancient world through the centuries of trainings and combats, boxing has become of on the world’s most popular sports.

 

The Origins

Boxing is one of the oldest forms of competition in the world.

According to the archaeological evidence, boxing existed as early as 4000 BC in North Africa and had also developed by 1500 BC in the Mediterranean. Then it was a bare fist fighting between two competitors. The Mediterranean then spread sport fighting to Southern Europe, with the ancient Greeks taking great belief Gods on Olympus enjoyed fighting as a game. This belief resulted in introducing fighting as a sport at the Olympic Games in 688 BC (the ancient Greeks called it Pygme/Pygmachia). The sport was exhausting and brutal first of all because the Greeks fought despite the weight differences and with no halts. The match ended only when a fighter lost consciousness or raised his hand in order to resign.

It is notable that the trainings then resemble modern ones greatly: participants trained on punching bags (korykos) and wore leather straps (himantes) to protect them from injury their hands (fingers, though, remained unprotected), wrists, and sometimes breast.

After the rise of the Roman Empire, fighting became a popular spectator sport for the emperors and the rich citizens to enjoy. The fighters were often criminals and slaves who hoped to gain freedom on becoming champions. However, the sport gained so much popularity, that it has turned into an amusing fling for free men: eventually, even the aristocrats started fist fighting. Luckily for them, Caesar Augustus eventually banned the practice. Luckily, because at first, the fighters wrapped leather thongs around their fists to protect themselves, but eventually thong soon became a weapon, after harder leather was used. The Romans are known to have introduced metal studs to the thongs to make the cestus which then led to a more sinister weapon called the myrmex (‘limb piercer’). Another term that survived in the centuries was introduced by the Romans: the ring. The fighters used to combat in a circle marked on the floor.

The gladiators in Rome usually fought to the death to please the spectators. Due to the excessive brutality of the spectacle, the sport was banned altogether by Theodoric the Great in 500 A.D.

 

The London age

It is notable that the records of boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire and resurfaced only in the late 17th century in London in the form of bare-knuckle boxing (sometimes referred to as prizefighting) or a mix of boxing and wrestling.

This was due to the fact that boxing survived as a sport (or rather a combination of wrestling and street fighting) enjoyed in medieval Europe by common people at local fairs and religious festivals. It was especially popular in the west and north of England, no wonder the renascence took place in England.

The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the newspaper London Protestant Mercury. In 1698, scheduled fights were often held in the Royal Theatre of London.

In the 18th century fighting in England was in the form of betting or offering prizes under the royal patronage. This was a great stimulus for the development of the regulated sport performance. The thing is that the early bare-knuckle fighting was brutal and had no written rules (there was no referee, no weight divisions or round limits). Kicking, grappling, gouging, butting, biting, headbutting, fish-hooking and blows below the belt that are now strictly banned, were commonly used at those times.

 

The rules and regulations

The first official boxing rules were the London Prize Ring rules, introduced by heavyweight champion Jack Broughton in 1743. The rules came into existence due to a fatal blow Broughton had delivered to his opponent in the ring. The regulations were determined to protect fighters from the deaths that sometimes occurred.

Under these rules, the fight ended, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds. Grasping below the waist and hitting a downed fighter were prohibited.

Although bare-knuckle fighting was in almost every way much more brutal than modern boxing, there was one advantage not enjoyed by today’s boxers: The London Prize Rules permitted the fighter to drop to one knee to begin a 30-second count at any time. This basically means the fighter had an opportunity to recover. In modern boxing the recovering fighter will lose points.

The London Prize Ring rules were expanded in detail in 1838 and revised in 1853. Under these rules, the fights occurred in a 24-foot-square ring surrounded by ropes. Another important rule was that if a fighter was knocked down, he had to rise within 30 seconds under his own power to be allowed to continue. And, most importantly, biting, headbutting and hitting below the belt were declared fouls.

The second important document that regulated the boxing rules was “Marquess of Queensberry rules” drafted by John Chambers in 1867. The rules were written for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights, Middleweights and Heavyweights and published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry, who thus has made a name in the history of boxing.

Marquess of Queensberry rules comprised of twelve rules in all and specified that fights should be «a fair stand-up boxing match» (wrestling was banned) in a 24-foot-square ring. Rounds were three minutes long with one minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down. The gloves of «fair-size» were introduced (it resembled a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists). Gloves protected the hands of both fighters but their considerable size and weight made knock-out victories more difficult to achieve. This has determined the change of the bout’s essence itself: they became longer and more strategic. Greater importance was attached to defense: slipping, bobbing, countering, angling, etc.

The modern boxing rules that are en force worldwide today at all levels are all derived in some way from the Marquees of Queensberry Rules of 1867.

They have also foreseen the end of the bare-knuckle fighting - in 1882 the English case of R v. Coney found that a bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm, despite the consent of the participants. The last of the great bare-knuckle fighters was John L. Sullivan. His story is a bound between English and American boxing histories.

 

Boxing in the United States

The rules and regulations were not determined among the American fighters until late in the 19th century. In fact, there barely were any: biting, gouging and punching were not banned at all. The fights were often illegal. John L. Sullivan, a bare-knuckle champion, was America’s first sports celebrity, who won a clandestine 75-round match in 1888.

Boxing was first legalized in New York in 1896, and soon followed by other states. There were several factors that influenced the development and legitimization of boxing. First, this sport was included in the Olympic Games in 1904. Secondly, it was used for military training in World War I. Thirdly, it proved to be a source of discipline for youth. And finally, it was intensely regulated by state commissions. All this made boxing extremely popular in the 1920s and 30s.

Heavyweight boxers (over 190 lb/86.3 kg) who gained championship, like Jack Dempsey (1919–26) and Joe Louis (1937–49) became national heroes, and were highly appreciated.

There was a time of serious changes in the sport since World War II. The major problems namely were: rising admission prices, restriction of title fights to closed-circuit television, the proliferation of organizations claiming to sanction fights and proclaim champions, financial scandals, ring injuries and deaths, monopolistic practices by promoters, and claims of exploitation of lower-class fighters.

Boxing has become corrupted, and sometimes the fights resulted in chaos. But this, in a way, made another great impact on the popularity of the sport, attracting huge audiences and investment.

In the 20th century formalized rules were gradually accepted. This led to the emergence of two distinct boxing branches: Professional and Olympic.

 

Amateur Boxing

Olympic (or Amateur) boxing takes place at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. Olympic boxing welcomes point scoring, not the knockouts of physical damage, as it is in professional boxing. Bouts consist four rounds of two minutes in Olympic and Commonwealth and three rounds of two minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing association). The interval between rounds is one minute long.

The outfit of the competitors in amateur boxing differs from those of the professionals: they wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip across the knuckle. According to the rules, a punch is considered a scoring one only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands on the head or torso earns a point.

There are legal and illegal blows (e.g. «low blows» are prohibited), strictly controlled by a referee monitoring the fight. Referees also ensure that the boxers don’t use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. The bout is stopped if a boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced. Amateur boxing is much more tolerant and safe.

 

Professional Boxing

Professional bouts last longer than Olympic bouts - from two to twelve rounds. Earlier, before the late 1980’s, the championship limit when it was shortened from fifteen rounds to twelve in ensure higher safety of fighters.

It is notable that in professional boxing headgear is not permitted and unlike amateur boxers, male professionals have to be bare-chested.

And although the professionals are generally fighting more severely, the referee reserves the right to halt the contest if he believes that one of the participant is unable to defend (technical knockout win/loss, respectively).

Today there are 17 primary weight classes in professional boxing: strawweight, to 105 lbs (48 kg); junior flyweight, to 108 lbs (49 kg); flyweight, to 112 lbs (51 kg); junior bantamweight, to 115 lbs (52 kg); bantamweight, to 118 lbs (53.5 kg); junior featherweight, to 122 lbs (55 kg); featherweight, to 126 lbs (57 kg); junior lightweight, to 130 lbs (59 kg); lightweight, to 135 lbs (61 kg); junior welterweight, 140 lbs (63.5 kg); welterweight, to 147 lbs (67 kg); junior middleweight, 154 lbs (70 kg); middleweight, to 160 lbs (72.5 kg); super middleweight, 168 lbs (76 kg); light heavyweight, to 175 lbs (79 kg); cruiserweight, 190 lbs (86 kg); and heavyweight, over 190 lbs.

 

Evolution of professional boxing

In 1891, a private club in London called the National Sporting Club (N.S.C.) began to promote professional glove fights at its own premises. The club stipulated nine more rules (specifying the role of the officials, the system of scoring that enabled the referee to decide the result of a fight, etc.) to add to the Queensberry Rules.

The British Boxing Board of Control (B.B.B.C.) was founded in 1919 and re-formed in 1929 after the closing of the N.S.C.

The history of belt-prizing began in 1909, when the fifth Earl of Lonsdale presented the first of twenty-two belts to the winners of a British title fight held at the N.S.C. In 1929, the B.B.B.C. continued to award Lonsdale belts to any British boxer in the same weight division who won three title fights.

Now let us see what caused the amazingly fast evolution from the sport into show business.

Professional boxing has always concentrated on the «title fight». There were title fights at each weight in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This gave bread to the managers and promoters who could became influential in the sport, on staging profitable title fights, and provoking media and public interest, bringing boxing to new audiences, etc. This led to the profitability of both the manager and the boxer, so they usually work as a team. For example, Jack Dempsey (Heavyweight Champion, 1919-1926), and his promoter Tex Rickard earned US$ 8.4 million in only five fights between 1921 and 1927 and predetermined the «golden age» of professional boxing in the 1920s. The first live radio broadcast of a title fight (Dempsey v. Georges Carpentier, in 1921) was also their way of gaining popularity. In the United Kingdom, Jack Solomons’ success as a fight promoter helped re-establish professional boxing after the Second World War and made the UK a popular place for title fights in the 1950s and 1960s.

As it has been already mentioned, the U.S.A. became the centre for professional boxing in the first part of the 20th century. After 1920, «title fights» were sanctioned by the National Boxing Association (N.B.A.). It was generally accepted that the Police Gazette published the list of «world champions». After the Ring Magazine was founded, champions and awarded championship belts were enlisted in this periodical. Ring Magazine also continues listing the World Champion of each weight division and its rankings are highly appreciated by the boxing fans.

 

Governing bodies

The N.B.A. was renamed in 1962 and became the World Boxing Association (W.B.A.). The very next year, the World Boxing Council (W.B.C.), which is considered to be a rival body to the W.B.A, was formed.

In 1983, another world body, the International Boxing Federation (I.B.F.) was founded.

There is no organization in overall control of Boxing. There are governing bodies for both professional and amateur branch.

By the end of the 20th century, a boxer had to be recognized by the three separate bodies to be the «Undisputed World Champion». Regional sanctioning bodies such as the North American Boxing Federation, the North American Boxing Council and the United States Boxing Association also awarded championships.

Professional boxing has the following Sanctioning Bodies: World Boxing Association (W.B.A.) World Boxing Council International Boxing Federation (I.B.F.) (W.B.C.) World Boxing Organization (W.B.O.) International Boxing Organization (I.B.O.) Governing Bodies to professional boxing are: British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) and  Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Olympic boxing is governed by Amateur boxing Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (A.I.B.A.) - International Amateur Boxing Association.

 

Prominent boxers from 18th century to present

The history of boxing recorded numerous popular fighters, and the attempt to name them all would be virtually hopeless. Still, there were those, who made record as pioneers of the sport or its greatest representatives of all times.

Among the pioneers of boxing, one might name James Figg, John ‘Jack’ Broughton, Daniel Mendoza and some others.

James Figg was the first English bare-knuckle champion (1719-30). He opened a School of Arms (the subjects included the swordplay, cudgeling, and boxing, called the “manly arts of self-defense), which attracted numerous young men.

His pupil, John ‘Jack’ Broughton (known as the father of English boxing) was champion from 1729 until 1750. Broughton introduced the first rules of boxing that proclaimed a 3-foot square in the centre of the ring, breaks when a fighter was knocked down and the use of gloves (for practice only).

Another London fighter (and champion from 1791 to 1795), Daniel Mendoza made a significant impact on the style of fighting (the Mendoza School): footwork, sparring and counter punches helped changed boxing from the sluggish brutal bouts to the more sophisticated fight game.

The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry rules was «Gentleman Jim» Corbett, who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans.

In 1800’s many English fighters claim the World Championship: Jem Belcher, Tom Cribb, James Burke and Jem Mace.

In early 1900’s saw America dominated the sport but there were some British fighters who made an impact on the boxing world: George ‘Digger’ Stanley (World Bantamweight Champion 1910), Bill Ladbury (World Flyweight Champion 1913) and Teddy Baldock (World Bantamweight Champion 1927).

The list of outstanding boxers is empty is there is no notion of Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis, Henry Cooper and many other prominent figures in both divisions of contemporary boxing.

Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis (born Gershon Mendeloff) was one of the greatest English fighters of the early 1900’s. He had his first fight at fourteen and went on to win the World Welterweight Championship in 1915 when he beat American Jack Britton. This was the fight of twenty epic fights between them. ‘Kid’ Lewis had a total of 279 bouts and was the first Briton to make an impact in America, but he also won many more British, European, Empire and World titles.

The professional sport has given rise to many famous boxers such as Jack Dempsey, Sugar Ray Leonard, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, Naseem Hamed and Mike Tyson.

One of the most famous boxers of the early 1900s was Tom Polson, who held the flyweight title from 1911-1913. In the post-Queensberry era, the first British/New Zealand fighter to achieve superstar status was Bob Fitzsimmons. He weighed less than 12 stone (164 pounds) but won world titles at middleweight (1892), light heavyweight (1903), and heavyweight (1897). He fought his last bout at the age of fifty-two. Famous British boxers include: Harry Mallin (Middleweight), 1920 and 1924), Terry Spinks (Flyweight, 1956), Dick McTaggart (Lightweight, 1956) and Chris Finnegan (Middleweight, 1968). American boxers in the post-Queensberry era include world heavyweight champions Jim Jeffries (the first Great White Hope) and Jack Johnson (the first black world heavyweight champion). A Welsh flyweight called Jimmy Wilde won the world Flyweight Championship in 1916 and held it until 1923. He once had a sequence of eighty-eight fights without defeat. He was described in Wales as the «Mighty Atom» and «the ghost with a hammer in his hand» because between 1911 and 1923, he won seventy-five of his fights by a knockout.

Jack Dempsey was a world heavyweight champion and dominated the 1920s after defeating Jess Willard. Dempsey was one of the hardest punchers of all-time – had “a left hook from hell” as Bert Randolph Sugar put it. He would later engage in a memorable rivalry with Gene Tunney. Their rivalry is most famous for «the long count». After knocking Tunney down in the seventh round of their rematch the referee gave Tunney extra time beyond the normal ten counts to get up as Dempsey did not immediately go to a neutral corner. Ironically the rule, that counting of a downed opponent would not begin until the standing opponent went into a neutral corner, was a new rule and one that was put in at the request of the Dempsey camp. Tunney would manage to stay upright for the rest of the fight on the way to a 10 round decision victory.

On June 22, 1938 an important fight occurred. With all of America behind him, and with Adolf Hitler watching in Germany, Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round at Madison Square Garden to retain his heavyweight title. Louis was voted the best puncher of all time by Ring Magazine. Another American boxer, James Braddock (nicknamed Cinderella Man) became the world heavyweight champion by defeating Max Baer in 1935 against 10 to 1 odds. Braddock defeated Corn Griffin, but was destroyed by Joe Louis in a title bout. In 1926, Hall of Famer Harry Greb (World Middleweight boxing Champion from 1923 to 1926) died due to complications from surgery the age of 32. His final record was 106-8-3. In 1930, British boxer Jack Kid Berg won the light welterweight title. In 1948, Freddie Mills won the light heavyweight title. Among English flyweights, Jackie Brown won the title in 1932 and Peter Kane in 1938. A flyweight from Glasgow, Scotland, Benny Lynch, held the world flyweight title in 1935 and again in 1937. Fellow Scotsman Jackie Paterson won the title in 1943. In 1938 Henry Armstrong became the first and only boxer to hold titles in three different weight classes at the same time (featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight). His attempt at winning the middleweight title would be thwarted in 1940.

An American boxer in the 1950s, Rocky Marciano, remains the only undefeated world champion in any division. Another American, Sugar Ray Robinson, held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951 and the world middleweight title a record five times from 1951 to 1960. American boxer Archie Moore, held the world light heavyweight title for ten years and scored more knockout victories than any other boxer in history. In Northern Ireland, Rinty Monahan held the flyweight title from 1947 to 1950, and Barry McGuigan won the W.B.A. featherweight title in 1985.

One of boxing’s greatest rivalries began on October 2 1942 when Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta waged the first of their six wars (Robinson would win five of the six).

In the 1960s to the 1970s, an American heavyweight boxer named Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali upon converting to the Abrahamic religion of Islam and promised to «shock the world.» Ali fought Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and George Foreman. Ali was known for his charismatic personality and his refusal to enlist in the US Army during the Vietnam War, among other things. After Ali retired, American boxer Sugar Ray Leonard won world titles in five different weight divisions.

Sugar Ray Leonard would come from behind to knock Thomas Hearns out in the 14th round on September 16, 1981 in one of the greatest fights of the decade. Leonard would go on to fight Roberto Duran twice in the 80s, losing the first fight but making Duran quit in the second fight (this is the famous «No mas» fight). Middleweight champion «Marvelous» Marvin Hagler would engage in one of the greatest fights of all time when he faced Thomas Hearns at Caesar’s Palace on April 15, 1985. The fight was billed as «The War» and it lived up to its billing. As soon as the bell rang both fighters ran towards the center of the ring and began trading hooks and uppercuts nonstop. The pace continued into round three when Hagler overwhelmed Hearns and knocked him out in brutal fashion. This fight made Hagler a household name and propelled him to superstardom. Hagler was able to lure Ray Leonard out of retirement in 1987, but lost a controversial decision to him. Hagler would retire from boxing immediately after that fight.

Nicknamed “Iron Mike”, American heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson became world heavyweight champion at the age of 20 and the first undisputed champion in a decade.

American Roy Jones, Jr. won world titles in four different weight divisions (middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight)). When he defeated John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title, he was the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons over one hundred years ago.

British heavyweight Lennox Lewis became undisputed champion in 1999 after winning the WBC title in 1993. Frank Bruno held the WBC world heavyweight title from 1995 and 1996, after beating the man who beat Lewis, Oliver McCall. He lost it to Mike Tyson in a rematch of their 1989 title bout. Lewis regained the title soon after and was at the top of the division until he retired in 2005. Larry Holmes was heavyweight champion for seven years defeating fighters such as Muhammad Ali, Gerry Cooney, and Earnie Shavers. He started his career with 48 consecutive victories and had a chance to become only the second heavyweight champion to go 49-0. But a loss to Michael Spinks ended his dream. Holmes then began his «second career» where he faced such fighters as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oliver McCall, and Ray Mercer. Holmes finished his career with a 69-6 record.

One of the most surprising turnarounds in boxing history occurred on March 17, 1990 when Julio Cesar Chavez, behind on the scorecards, knocked out Meldrick Taylor with two seconds left in the 12th round. Chavez would go undefeated in his first 91 fights (including a very controversial draw vs. Pernell Whitaker) becoming a Mexican hero in the process before dropping a split decision against Frankie Randall.

Fighters in lower weight classes are experiencing unprecedented popularity today. Oscar De La Hoya became the most popular non-heavyweight of all time. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is considered by Ring Magazine to be the best pound for pound fighter in the world with a record of 36-0 with 24 KOs.

Sue Atkins (alias Sue Catkins) helped to pioneer women’s boxing in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, but without any official recognition. The first British woman to be issued with a license was Jane Couch from Fleetwood, who won the Women’s International Boxing Federation (WIBF) welterweight title in 1996. The issue of women’s boxing has been highly disputed over the century, and still the consensus has not been found.

Its first appearance took place in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1904. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing Association sanctioned its first boxing competition for women in 1997.

Although women fought professionally in many countries, in the United Kingdom the B.B.B.C. refused to issue licences to women until 1998. By the end of the century, however, they had issued five such licenses. The first sanctioned bout between women was in November 1998 at Streatham in London, between Jane Crouch and Simona Lukic.

 

International Boxing Hall of Fame

The International Boxing Hall of Fame opened in Canastota in 1989. In 1990 it memorized Jack Johnson, Benny Leonard, Jack Dempsey, Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, and Muhammad Ali. Other world-class figures represented there include Roberto «Manos de Piedra» Duran, Ismael Laguna, Eusebio Pedroza, Carlos Monzon, Azumah Nelson, Rocky Marciano, Pipino Cuevas and Ken Buchanan. The Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony is held every June as part of a four-day event.

 

Boxing in popular culture

Although boxing had a controversial reputation throughout the years, it was and still remains one of the most popular sports in America. The first sporting event ever broadcast live over the radio was a prize fight. Many of the terms and expressions from boxing have found their way into the American lexicon. It is mentioned or discussed in books of prominent writers including Damon Runyon, Jack London, Ernest Hemingway, Robert E. Howard, Joyce Carol Oates, and Norman Mailer and others. Numerous radio plays, television shows, and the movies deal with the hardships and glories of boxing. As sport and martial art, boxing has had a long history of gains and losses, and won popularity among millions of spectators worldwide. Nowadays it is not only sport, but a show business, attracting huge investments and generating even more abound profits. It is the sport of the future.

Our team is grateful to CheapWritingHelp.com essay writing service for providing this research paper about history of boxing.

 

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