Boxing also known as pugilism, prizefighting or the sweet science, is a sport and martial art in which two competitors, within the same weight specifications, fight each other only using their fists, trying to avoid each other’s blows.
The roots of boxing date back to ancient Greece and Rome. The ancient Greeks believed that fist fighting was a game played by the Gods on Olympus. Hence, boxing was incorporated in the Olympic Games around 688 B.C. During the Roman era, boxing began to flourish on a wide scale. Boxers fought with leather taped to their fists. Sometimes, they wore leather bands with metal filling, which was called ‘cesti’. This resulted in very ghastly and bloody fights. Boxing witnessed a downfall after the fall of Rome.
In 1681, the first boxing match was documented in England. The Duke of Albemarle had organized a fight where the contestants were his butler and his butcher.
In the 18th century, boxing was revived in England. It became the sport of a working man during the Industrial Revolution. The participants and bystanders from the working class were attracted to the prizefights. Initially, there was minimum organization involved in these fights and the matches resembled street fights more than professional boxing. James Figg, who was the heavyweight champion between 1719 and 1730, made boxing very popular during his championship reign.
Jack Broughton, known as “The Father of Boxing”, noted down a set of rules for his fights. They rules gained acceptance in 1743. These rules introduced many changes in the sport of boxing. Hitting below the belt line was prohibited. Broughton insisted on a square arena instead of a ring of spectators. This period in the history of boxing is referred to as the “bare-knuckle era”.
John Sholto Douglass, theEighth Marquess of Queensbury, designed new rules of boxing in 1865. He is regarded as the “Patron Saint” of boxing who developed boxing on a professional level. He introduced 3-minute rounds and regulated the use of approved boxing gloves.
In 1927, the National Boxing Association (NBA) became the first organization to organize and regulate the sport. NBA performed the task of providing fighters with ranks and arranged between the champions and potential challengers.
