History of Boxing

Boxing Today:

Boxing today is a multimillion-dollar sport that has successfully captured the interest of millions of people worldwide. However, boxing today is mired with stories, controversies, and contradictions and of course, enmities. Maybe the very fact that it is a brutal combat sport plays an important role in creating the hype that exists around boxing today.

History of Boxing:

Boxing is one of the oldest contact sports known to human history. While it cannot be said for certain whether boxing back then was a regular sport with rules and regulations, evidence that boxing existed are found in the archaeological findings of the Egyptians, Berbers, Sumerian, Greek and Mediterranean civilizations. Other evidences of boxing has found as early as 1500 BC and 3000 BC. Therefore one can safely say that the origin of boxing was around 3000 BC.

Differences Between Modern Boxing and Ancient Boxing:

There is a vast difference between the boxing of today and ancient boxing. Right from the way the fights took place to the attire and accessories, ancient boxing was totally different as compared to modern boxing.

Ancient boxers obviously did not have access to the boxing gloves and head and ear pads that the modern boxers have today. In fact, boxing was not always called boxing. In the ancient Greek and Roman times, the sport of bashing up the teeth of your opponent during fist fighting was called pugilism.

Also, the rules of ancient boxing were quite different from the boxing prevalent today. The fights were not divided into rounds and there was no defeat as such. The winner of the match would be judged only by the Knock Out and in extreme cases, death of the opponent.

Ancient boxing was also quiet more brutal than modern boxing, in the sense that the boxers would usually have strips of leather around their fists and fingers, or even gloves with spikes, which would help them deliver more lethal blows than modern boxing.

Rise and Fall of Boxing:

Boxing eventually became extremely popular in all classes of the society then. So popular it became, that it was officially accepted in the Olympics around 688 BC. There have also been instances where criminals and slaves used to win their freedom or prove their innocence with a boxing match. Boxing was banned thrice in history, once by Caesar Augustus, Theodosius and Theodoric the Great.

Though boxing almost disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire, there have been stray accounts of fistfights around the globe. The first complete documented boxing match in modern times was held 1681. The first boxing champion, therefore, was James Figg, in the year 1719. Since then, boxing has become a famous sport, fueled by the vast amount of money and adulation that a boxer would get once he has walked out of the square circle as a winner.

The Modern Avatar of Boxing:

Modern boxing is much different than ancient boxing. The various rules, regulations and enhancements in entertainment, sports and sports entertainment have greatly reduced the chances of grave injury to a boxer. Today, it is necessary for a boxer to wear protective head gear and gloves. Also, the rules do not allow boxing to a lethal match any longer.

There are two kinds of boxing today, the amateur boxing and professional boxing. Amateur boxing is mainly found in school or college sports events and in the Olympics. Professional boxing is much more serious than amateur boxing, and many safety restrictions are removed in professional boxing

Boxing Greats

As a sport, boxing has given the world great men and excellent sportsmen. These have been men who have fought for guts and glory. No history of boxing article is complete without these names. Here are some stalwarts of boxing (in no particular order):

Muhammad Ali: Possibly a walking example of why boxing is called a lethal sport. Muhammad Ali has been revered all over the world as one of the greatest boxers ever. While he was the original ‘move like a butterfly and sting like a bee’, today he suffers from Parkinson’s disease and various other injuries related to his boxing career.

Sugar Ray Robinson: One of the few sportsmen who have a commemorative stamp in their name, he is regarded as one of the greatest boxers to ever have set foot inside the square circle.

Mike Tyson: As a boxer, there was no question that Mike makes this list. But, he is also one classic case of too much of exposure and adulation being bad for a person.

There are many other boxers who have created and rewritten the history of boxing. Whether these people knew about the origin of boxing can be debated, but it goes without saying that they will always have a place in boxing history.