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boxingFighting with gloved fists, almost entirely a male sport. The sport dates from the 18th century, when fights were fought with bare knuckles and untimed rounds. Each round ended with a knockdown. Fighting with gloves became the accepted form in the latter part of the 19th century after the formulation of the Queensberry Rules in 1867. Jack Broughton was one of the early champions and in 1743 drew up the first set of boxing rules. Fights continued until one boxer was unable to continue. Later, the London Prize Ring Rules (1838) gave fighters that had been knocked down 30 seconds to return to a mark scratched in the middle of the ring (the origin of the phrase ‘coming up to scratch’) or lose the bout. The last bare-knuckle championship fight was between John L Sullivan and Jake Kilrain in 1899. Today all boxing follows the original Queensberry Rules, but with modifications. Contests take place in a roped ring 4.3–6.1 m/14–20 ft square. All rounds last three minutes. Amateur bouts last three rounds; professional championship bouts last as many as 12 or 15 rounds. Boxers are classified according to weight and may not fight in a division lighter than their own. The 17 weight divisions in professional boxing range from strawweight (also known as paperweight, minimumweight, and mini-flyweight), under 48 kg/105 lb, to heavyweight, over 86 kg/190 lb. | Boxing has school, amateur, semi-professional, and professional matches. |
| Both the British Medical Association (BMA) and the American Medical Association have repeatedly called for a ban on boxing because of the considerable risks of brain damage and disease; British researchers examining the brain of a 23-year-old boxer who died of a brain haemorrhage in the ring in 1995 found signs of long-standing brain damage almost certainly caused by repeated blows to the head. Approximately 10% of long-term boxers develop the condition known as ‘punch-drunk syndrome’, which is caused by brain damage from repeated blows to the head and is characterized by slurred speech, loss of coordination, and poor memory. The BMA has been campaigning since 1992 to ban boxing for under-16s. |
boxing - events| 1743 | UK | Jack Broughton, the champion prizefighter of England, drafts his Rules on Boxing, which are in part designed to lessen the brutality of the sport. They remain in force until 1838, when they are superseded by the London Prize Ring Rules. | | 1838 | UK | The original London Prize Ring Rules for boxing are introduced in England, superseding English prizefighting champion Jack Broughton's rules which have governed the sport since 1743. | | 1866–1867 | UK | A new set of boxing rules is drafted in Britain under the auspices of John Sholto Douglas, Marquess of Queensberry. With their insistence on the wearing of padded gloves, three-minute rounds, and a count of ten for knockouts, they herald the beginning of modern boxing. | | 26 December 1908 | USA, Australia, Canada | Jack Johnson of the USA becomes the first black fighter to win the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, beating the defending champion, Tommy Burns of Canada, in 14 rounds in Sydney, Australia. | | 2 July 1921 | USA, France | In the first ever boxing match to gross over a million dollars, more than 80,000 people in a purpose-built wooden stadium in Jersey City, USA, watch the defending US champion Jack Dempsey knock out George Carpentier of France in four rounds to retain his world heavyweight boxing title. | | 11 April 1922 | USA | A boxing match between the US fighters Johnny (Joe) Dundee and Johnny Ray at Motor Square, Pittsburgh, USA, is the first sporting event to be broadcast on the radio. | | 17 August 1938 | USA | US boxer Henry ‘Homicide Hank’ Armstrong becomes the first boxer to hold three world professional titles simultaneously: featherweight, welterweight, and lightweight. | | 25 May 1959 | USA | The US Supreme Court rules that a Louisiana state ban on boxing matches between white and black fighters is unconstitutional. | | 20 June 1960 | USA, Sweden | In beating Ingemar Johansson of Sweden in five rounds of their fight in New York City, US boxer Floyd Patterson becomes the first boxer to regain the world heavyweight title. | | 28 April 1967 | USA | The World Boxing Association strips Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) of his world heavyweight title for refusing to be drafted into the US army. | | 8 March 1971 | USA | US boxer Joe Frazier beats Muhammad Ali of the USA over 15 rounds at Madison Square Garden, New York City, and retains the world heavyweight title. With takings from closed-circuit television the fight grosses almost $20 million. | | 28 June 1997 | USA, World | Evander Holyfield of the USA retains his World Boxing Association (WBA) world heavyweight title in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the challenger Mike Tyson of the USA is disqualified in the third round for biting Holyfield's ear. Tyson is subsequently fined $3 million and banned from fighting but he is allowed to keep his $30-million purse. | | 12 December 1999 | UK | Former US boxer Muhammad Ali is named British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Sports Personality of the Century. |
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