boxing

Fighting 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.