BOXING

sport, both amateur and professional, involving attack and defense with the fists in which the two contestants wear padded gloves, box bouts of from 3 to 15 rounds (each round normally lasting three minutes), and generally observe the code set forth in the Marquess of Queensberry rules (see below Queensberry rules). Boxing contestants are matched in weight and ability, each trying to land hard and often with his own fists and, while doing so, attempting to avoid the blows of his opponent. The terms pugilism and prizefighting in 20th-century usage are practically synonymous with boxing, although the first term indicates the ancient origins of the sport in its derivation from the Latin pugil, a fighter with the cestus [a hand covering], related to the Latin pugnus, fist, and derived in turn from the Greek pyx, with clenched fist. The term prizefighting emphasizes pursuit of the sport for monetary gain. Dimensions of a boxing ring and boxing gloves sport for both professionals and amateurs involving attack and defense with the fists. In the modern sport, boxers wear padded gloves and fight bouts of 3 to 15 three-minute rounds, with one minute intervening between rounds, in a four-roped square ring (see illustration). The earliest evidence of boxing as a sport is found in the Mediterranean area from about 1500 BC. The sport was introduced by the Greeks into the Olympic Games in the late 7th century BC. Greek boxers used thongs of soft leather to bind their hands and forearms for protection. Later in Rome, the leather glove was exchanged for the cestus, which was studded with metal, and as a consequence gladiatorial boxing matches usually ended with the death of one contestant. The sport declined with the late Roman Empire, and no further reference to boxing exists until modern times. Boxing as a sport had reappeared in England by the early 18th century. The first champion by acclamation, in 1719, was James Figg (q.v.), who held the title for some 15 years. Until nearly the end of the 19th century, gloves were not used, and at first there were no rules; wrestling was permitted, as was hitting an opponent who was down. Jack Broughton, who was the heavyweight champion of England from 1734 to 1750, first introduced rules in which a round lasted until a man went down; if after 30 seconds he could not continue, the fight was over. Under his rules it was forbidden to hit an opponent who was down or to grasp him below the waist. The first prizefighter to be considered scientific in his approach was Daniel Mendoza (q.v.), who in the late 1780s introduced an emphasis on footwork and the left jab. John (Gentleman) Jackson, who succeeded Mendoza, did much to attract distinguished people to boxing. London prizefighters remained dominant in the sport throughout the 18th century and until near the end of the 19th, with only occasional Irish, American, and Australian challengers. In 1839 the London Prize Ring rules, the first since Broughton's, were introduced. These rules (revised in 1853) provided that bouts be fought in a 24-foot-square ring with ropes surrounding it. The rules for rounds and for ending a fight remained the same as Broughton's except that a fighter knocked down had to come to his feet under his own power, not be carried there by his seconds. Kicking, gouging, butting, biting, and blows below the belt were explicitly made fouls. In 1867 the Marquess of Queensberry rules (q.v.) were introduced; originally for amateur use, they later superseded the London rules. The American champion John L. Sullivan was the last of the great fighters to box under the London Prize Ring rules. The first world champion under the Marquess of Queensberry rules was James J. (Gentleman Jim) Corbett, who defeated Sullivan in 1892. From Sullivan on, the United States became the premier boxing scene, partly because immigrants supplied a constantly renewed pool of boxers. As a result, different ethnic and racial groups dominated boxing in the United States in successive periods throughout the 20th century. By 1915 the Irish, early dominant as heavyweights, dominated every weight division in boxing. Jewish fighters were especially prominent after 1915. Italians were prominent from the 1920s. There had been a few talented black fighters from the 19th century on, but they often encountered racial prejudice. Jack Johnson sought a heavyweight championship fight for which he seemed to be qualified from 1902 until he won the championship in 1908. The heavyweight championship of Joe Louis (193749), an extremely popular champion, removed the stigma from black boxers, and after him more black fighters than white have held the heavyweight title. American boxing influence spread to the Philippines after the Spanish-American War, and to the Latin-American countries as the 20th century progressed. After World War II the sport spread to East Asia and in the 1950s to Africa's newly emergent nations. In the second half of the 20th century, American domination remained only in the heavyweight division. In the 18th century and the first half of the 19th, professional boxers fought with no weight requirements. Most of the boxers, however, were in what is now the heavyweight division, i.e., more than 175 pounds (79 kg). Other weight divisions appeared in the second half of the 19th century, and there is now general agreement on the different weight classes. In the Olympic Games, for example, there are 12 medal events: light flyweight, not more than 106 pounds (48 kg); flyweight, not more than 112 pounds (51 kg); bantamweight, not more than 119 pounds (54 kg); featherweight, not more than 126 pounds (57 kg); lightweight, not more than 132 pounds (60 kg); light welterweight, not more than 140 pounds (63.5 kg); welterweight, not more than 148 pounds (67 kg); light middleweight, not more than 156 pounds (71 kg); middleweight, not more than 165 pounds (75 kg); light heavyweight, not more than 179 pounds (81 kg); heavyweight, not more than 200.5 pounds (91 kg); and super heavyweight, more than 200.5 pounds (91 kg). Some non-Olympic weight divisions are called cruiserweight, super middleweight, and strawweight. Professional boxing was regulated only by the boxers in the early days. Organization began among the amateurs; in 1866 John Graham Chambers founded the Amateur Athletic Club for (among other sports) boxing, and the Marquess of Queensberry rules resulted. The Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) was established in 1880 as the British governing body. Annual U.S. championship competition began in 1888, when the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was formed. Boxing events were held in the Olympic Games from 1904, but were omitted from the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm because boxing was then illegal in Sweden. The Amateur International Boxing Association, formed in 1946, now conducts Olympic boxing. A tournament, inaugurated in 1926 by the Chicago Tribune and from 1927 called the Golden Gloves (q.v.), augmented the AAU championships and, with the ABA championships, produced many later professional boxers. In England, modern professional organization began with the Pelican Club (founded 1887), superseded by the National Sporting Club (1891). The British Boxing Board of Control (1919) effectively replaced the National Sporting Club after 1929. In the United States, the National Boxing Association was founded in 1920 and was renamed the World Boxing Association (WBA) in 1962. U.S. dominance of the WBA led to the formation of the rival World Boxing Council (WBC) in 1963. Both of these organizations were concerned with the sponsoring of championship fights and the recognition of champions. When both the WBA and the WBC began naming rival champions from 1965 (with occasional agreements), there was an inevitable dilution of standards. Another professional organization, the International Boxing Federation, was founded in 1983. The first great period of boxing popularity began in the 1920s as a result of the American promoter Tex Rickard (q.v.), with his million-dollar gates. While boxing at all weights was popular, the heavyweight division predominated. Jack Dempsey was the first popular idol. Joe Louis' long reign was also popular, and, during it, radio broadcasts of championship fights enlarged the audience. By the time of Louis' deposition in 1949, the televising of fights added to boxing's popularity through the 1950s, after which local boxing declined because the local clubs and fighters could no longer attract audiences, who preferred to watch nationally recognized boxers fight on television. The televising of championship fights did increase revenues. By the 1990s, a championship fight in one of the heavier divisions could produce revenues of more than $35,000,000. When amateur boxing became popular in the late 19th century, it allowed knockouts (a count of 10 over downed opponents) but primarily emphasized points (solid blows struck) and decisions rendered by judges. In time, professional boxing adopted the decision system, so that a fighter can now win by amassing a larger number of points than his opponent, as well as by knockout. Thus a bout can end in a decision, when a bout goes the scheduled number of rounds and is won on points; in a knockout; in a technical knockout, when the referee judges a boxer incapable of defending himself even though he has not been counted out; and in a draw. A single referee has remained constant, but the number of judges for a boxing match varies from three to five, and in some cases a referee has no vote in the decision. Amateur bouts are 3 rounds; professional ones range from 4 to 12, and championship fights, which formerly lasted 15 rounds, have been 12-round fights since the late 1980s. All fighters wear protective mouthpieces over the upper teeth. Referees in amateur bouts are instructed to stop a fight in which a boxer could suffer serious injury; in professional fights, the referee stops the bout if a fighter cannot defend himself. In both kinds of boxing, a contestant who floors an opponent must move to a neutral corner before the count begins. Additional reading Harry Mullan, The Illustrated History of Boxing (1987), is a comprehensive history of professional boxing. Bohun Lynch, The Prize Ring: Illustrated by Reproductions of Old Prints, Several Oil Paintings, and of the Famous Byron Screen (1925), traces the history of the sport from the bareknuckle period; and Harry Carpenter, Boxing: A Pictorial History (1975, reissued as Boxing, an Illustrated History, 1982), focuses mainly on the professional sport. See also Nat Fleischer, The Heavyweight Championship: An Informal History of Heavyweight Boxing from 1719 to the Present Day, rev. ed. (1961); and Jeffrey T. Sammons, Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society (1988). For comprehensive statistics, see The Ring Record Book and Boxing Encyclopedia (annual); and its British counterpart, Boxing News Annual. Nigel Collins Rules, techniques, and styles Ring, rules, and equipment Because there is no universally accepted world ruling body for professional boxing, each country has its own set of rules, and in the United States there are different rules in different states. Generally bouts take place in a ring that is some 18 to 22 feet square (the size may vary slightly) and surrounded by four strands of rope. Professional bouts may be scheduled to last from four to 12 rounds of three minutes' duration, though two-minute rounds are used in some bouts held in Great Britain. Professional championship bouts had traditionally lasted 15 rounds, but by the late 1980s the WBC, WBA, and IBF championships were all being scheduled for 12 rounds. A referee is stationed inside the ring with the boxers and regulates the bout. In some jurisdictions, the referee scores the contest along with two judges outside the ring. In most jurisdictions, however, the referee does not participate in the judging, and three ringside officials score the bout. The officials award points to each boxer for each round, and a boxer must win on two of the three scorecards to earn a decision victory. Padded gloves, ranging from eight to 10 ounces in weight, are worn by the boxers. A bout ends in a knockout when a boxer is knocked down and cannot get up or is adjudged not ready to resume the contest after the referee has counted to 10. A fight can be stopped (called a technical knockout) when a boxer is deemed by the referee (and sometimes the ringside physician) to be unable to defend himself, when a boxer is deemed to have sustained a serious injury, or when a boxer or his seconds decide he should not continue. A bout may also end in a decision, when the bout has gone the scheduled number of rounds and the scoring officials decide the winner; in a draw when the officials agree that both boxers fought equally well; in a no contest when the referee deems that both men are not giving their best; or in disqualification. The rules governing amateur boxing are similar in the United States, Great Britain, and continental Europe. Amateur rules, however, differ substantially from those governing professional boxing. Amateur bouts are normally three rounds in duration, and the boxers wear protective headgear. The referee only supervises the boxing, while three to five ringside judges score the bout. The rules are also more stringently enforced in amateur boxing, and disqualification is more more common than in professional boxing. Techniques No one phase of boxing is more important than another. An effective offense in boxing depends on the ability to land punches fast and hard enough to penetrate the opponent's guard. Defensive tactics include parrying or warding off punches with one's upraised arms and gloves; stepping backward or sideways out of the arc of a punch; and bending or twisting one's head and upper body out of the blow's path. Footwork is important to both offense and defense. The two generally recognized stances are orthodox and southpaw. The former has the left hand and the left foot forward, the latter the right hand and the right foot forward. Switch-hitting boxers are those who change from one stance to another during the course of a bout. In either stance, the lead hand is extended forward in front of the body and the other hand is held near the chin for protection, the chin is tucked into the chest, and the shoulders are hunched. There are variations in individual styles, of course. There are four basic punches: the jab, hook, uppercut, and cross. All other punches are modifications of these basic punches. The jab, whether thrown from an orthodox or southpaw stance, is a straight punch delivered with the lead hand, which moves directly out from the shoulder. The other punches may be thrown with either hand. The hook is a short lateral movement of arm and fist, with elbow bent and wrist twisted inward at the moment of impact. The uppercut is an upward blow delivered from the direction of the toes. The cross is thrown across the body at shoulder level, usually as a follow-up to a lead from the other hand.