Early History
Depicted on the walls of tombs at Beni Hasan in Egypt, dating from about 2000 to 1500 B.C., boxing is one of the oldest forms of competition. A part of the ancient Olympic games, the sport was exhausting and brutal. The Greeks fought without regard for weight differentials and without interruption, a match ending only when a fighter lost consciousness or raised his hand in resignation. Boxers wound heavy strips of leather around their hands and wrists. Under Roman rule, these thongs (the caestus) were laced with metal, ensuring an abundance of blood. Statues of maimed boxers from late antiquity attest to the carnage. After the demise of the Olympics, boxing survived as a common sport. It persisted at local fairs and religious festivals throughout medieval Europe and was especially popular in the west and north of England, where it was often a combination of wrestling and street fighting.
The Organization of Boxing
In early 18th-century England, boxing, with the aid of royal patronage in the form of betting or offering prizes, became organized. James Figg, the first British champion (1719–30), opened a School of Arms, which attracted numerous young men to instruction in swordplay, cudgeling, and boxing—the "manly arts of self-defense." After delivering a fatal blow in a bout, Jack Broughton drew up (1743) the first set of rules. Though fights still ended only in knockout or resignation, Broughton's rules moderated the sport and served as the basis for the later London Prize-ring Rules (1838) and Queensbury Rules (1867). The latter called for boxing gloves, a limited number of 3-min rounds, the forbidding of gouging and wrestling, a count of 10 sec before a floored boxer is disqualified, and various other features of modern boxing.
Boxing in the United States
Until late in the 19th cent., American fighters established their own rules, which were few. Early matches, some of them free-for-alls, featured biting and gouging as well as punching. In most instances they were also illegal. In 1888, John L. Sullivan Sullivan, John Lawrence, 1858–1918, American boxer, b. Roxbury, Mass. After gaining a local reputation in amateur boxing, the Boston Strong Boy, as Sullivan came to be called, toured New England cities and after 1878 boxed professionally.
..... Click the link for more information. , a bare-knuckle champion and America's first sports celebrity, won a clandestine 75-round match.
New York legalized boxing in 1896, and other states soon followed suit. Although the reign (1910–15) of the first African-American heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson Johnson, Jack (John Arthur Johnson), 1878–1946, American boxer, b. Galveston, Tex., the son of two ex-slaves. Emerging from the battle royals (dehumanizing fights between blacks for the amusement of white patrons) of his youth, he defeated Tommy Burns in 1908
..... Click the link for more information. , disturbed the segregated society of the time, and although many continued to question boxing's social purpose, its inclusion in the Olympic games in 1904, its use for military training in World War I, its emergence as a source of discipline for youth, its regulation by state commissions, and its suggestion of national vitality strengthened its claims to legitimacy and bolstered its popularity through the 1920s and 30s. Heavyweight (over 190 lb/86.3 kg) champions Jack Dempsey Dempsey, Jack (William Harrison Dempsey), 1895–1983, American boxer, b. Manassa, Colo. Dempsey, called the "Manassa Mauler," emerged from fights on saloon floors near mining camps to become (1919) the world's heavyweight champion and one of the major sports
..... Click the link for more information. (1919–26) and Joe Louis Louis, Joe (Joseph Louis Barrow) , 1914–81, American boxer, b. Lafayette, Ala. His father, a sharecropper, died when Louis was four years old, and in 1926 his stepfather took the family to Detroit, where Louis became interested in boxing.
..... Click the link for more information. (1937–49) were national heroes, Louis becoming one of the first black athletes to gain wide popularity.
Since World War II, boxing has proceeded amid corruption and, at times, chaos. 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 have threatened its appeal, yet the sport continues to attract huge audiences and investment. Great fighters like Muhammad Ali Ali, Muhammad , 1942–, American boxer, b. Louisville, Ky. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, he was a 1960 Olympic gold medalist. Shortly after upsetting Sonny Liston in 1964 to become world heavyweight champion, he formalized his association with the Nation of Islam
..... Click the link for more information. elicit admiration and fascination, while controversy surrounds others like the repeatedly imprisoned Mike Tyson Tyson, Mike (Michael Gerald Tyson), 1966–, American boxer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. At the age of 12, Tyson was sent to reform school, where he began to box. In a whirlwind career begun in 1985, his spare, brutal style (36 knockouts in his first 41 wins) rescued him
..... Click the link for more information. . Lennox Lewis Lewis, Lennox (Lennox Claudis Lewis), 1965–, British-Canadian boxer. Born in London, England, to Jamaican parents, Lewis had a troubled childhood and followed his mother to Canada at the age of 12.
..... Click the link for more information. is generally regarded as the current world heavyweight champion.
Amateur Boxing
Amateur boxing, while not free from debate, has in recent decades taken steps to ensure safety and objective judging. The Golden Gloves national tournament has long been a stepping stone for young fighters, but the Olympics are the most visible forum for amateurs. Olympic boxers wear eight-ounce gloves and padded head gear and fight just three rounds of three min. Judges use electronic devices to record the scoring punches that determine the winner.
Bibliography
See A. J. Liebling, The Sweet Science (1956); N. S. Fleischer, Fifty Years at Ringside (1940, repr. 1969); R. Roberts, Papa Jack (1983); E. Gorn, The Manly Art (1986); J. Sammons, Beyond the Ring (1988); G. Early, The Culture of Bruising (1994).
boxing
Sport involving attack and defense with the fists. In the modern sport, boxers wear padded gloves and fight bouts of up to 12 three-minute rounds in a roped-off square known as the ring. In ancient Greece fighters used leather thongs on their hands and forearms, while in Rome gladiators used metal-studded leather hand coverings (cesti) and usually fought to the death. Not until implementation of the London Prize Ring rules in 1839 were kicking, gouging, butting, biting, and blows below the belt eliminated from the boxer's standard repertoire. In 1867 the Queensberry rules called for the wearing of gloves, though bare-knuckle boxing continued into the late 1880s. The last of the great bare-knuckle fighters was John L. Sullivan. From Sullivan on, the U.S. became the premier boxing venue, partly because immigrants supplied a constantly renewed pool of boxers. Boxing has been included among the Olympic Games since 1904. 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. A bout can be won either by knocking out or felling one's opponent for a count of 10 (a KO) or by delivering the most solid blows and thus amassing the most points. The referee can also stop the fight when one boxer is being badly beaten (a technical knockout, or TKO) or he can disqualify a fighter for rules violations and award the fight to his opponent.
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boxing [′bäks·iŋ]
Boxing
a type of sport; fistfighting between two athletes according to specific rules.
Boxing developed from fistfighting, which existed as a sports contest more than 5,000 years ago in Egypt and Babylon. Such fisticuffs were included in the program of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece. Rules for boxing (without gloves) first appeared at the beginning of the 18th century in England. It was also in England that the first rules for boxing with gloves were established in 1867. The beginning of boxing in Russia dates back to the 1890’s. Since 1904 boxing has been included in the program of the modern Olympic Games, and since the 1920’s the European Championships have been held.
Boxing matches take place in a ring—a square area 6x6 m in size enclosed by ropes—with contestants who wear soft gloves from 250 to 300 g in weight. A fight lasts for three rounds of three minutes each, with a one-minute interval between rounds. Victory is awarded to the boxer who gains the greater number of points for his successful attacks. A boxer can also win the fight by a knockout, as well as by his opponent’s inability to continue the fight, disqualification, or refusal to fight. In boxing it is forbidden to land blows below the belt, on the back of the head, or on the backbone. Butting an opponent with the head or hitting him when he is down is also prohibited. A fight is judged by a referee (a judge within the ring) and by three to five judges outside the ring.
According to the rules adopted in the USSR, boxing matches are conducted for the following age groups: youths 14–15 years old, youths 16–17 years old, young men (juniors) 18–20 years old, and adults (over 21 years of age). Age groups of adults and juniors are, in turn, divided into 11 weight categories: first lightest, up to 48 kg; lightest, up to 51 kg; very light, up to 54 kg; semilight, up to 57 kg; light, up to 60 kg; first semimiddle, up to 63.5 kg; second semimiddle, up to 67 kg; first middle, up to 71 kg; second middle, up to 75 kg; semiheavy, up to 81 kg; and heavy, more than 81 kg.
Soviet boxers began to participate in the Olympic Games in 1952. (Nine boxers from the USSR have won championships.) Soviet boxers have also competed in the European Championships since 1953. (Thirty-four boxers have been champions.)
Among the outstanding Soviet boxers are repeated champions of the USSR V. P. Mikhailov, E. I. Ogurenkov, N. F. Korolev, and S. S. Shcherbakov; European and Olympic champions A. S. Shotsikas, V. N. Engibarian.G. I. Shatkov, O. G. Grigor’ev, B. N. Lagutin, V. V. Popenchenko, D. I. Pozniak, and S. I. Stepashkin; Olympic champion V. S. Sokolov; European champion V. P. Frolov; and others. Among foreign boxers who have appeared in the amateur ring during the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s, L. Papp (Hungary), J. Torma (Czechoslovakia), Z. Pietrzykowski and J. Kulej (Poland), N. Benvenuti (Italy), C. Clay (Muhammad Ali), J. Frazier, G. Foreman (USA), and others were widely known. In the USSR boxers are members of the Boxing Federation of the USSR, which is included in the International Association of Amateur Boxing (AIBA), created in 1947, and the European Association of Amateur Boxers, founded in 1970, with headquarters in Moscow.
Professional boxing is also widespread in capitalist countries. Its rules allow rougher conduct in a fight, dangerous for the athletes’ health. Fewer weight categories are observed, lighter boxing gloves are used, and there are more rounds.
REFERENCES
Gradopolov, K. V. Boks. Moscow, 1965.Na ringe. Moscow, 1966. (A collection of articles.)
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