Boxing history

Boxing is an ancient sport. The first images of fist fights were captured in a Sumerian cave as early as 3000 B.C. Antique fist fightsAn Egyptian relief from 2000 B.C. shows not only two men engaged in a fist fight, but also spectators. Boxing became very popular in Greece. In 688 BC fist fights were included in the program of the ancient Olympic Games. The rules of the time, it was forbidden to hit the torso, it was only possible to hit in the head. In ancient boxing there were no rounds, the fight took place until one of the fighters was unconscious or refused to continue. Boxing of the ancient world had nothing to do with technique and speed, preference was given to the force of the blow. Often boxing fights of that time ended with the death of the fighter. There were no gloves, and leather pads with metal inserts were worn on the bare hands. One of the most famous fighters was Diagoras

Modern boxing appeared in England in the 18th century. The first mention of fist fights appeared in 1681, and since 1689 fights began to be carried out regularly. The outfit initially did not include gloves, they were used only for training. Fists fought on a special arena, surrounded by ropes. For the victory of the fighter received a reward. Judges were present, if one of the boxers missed a punch and fell, the judge gave 30 seconds to recover, after that the fighter had to return to the ring on his own. If the boxer could not recover from the knockdown, victory was automatically awarded to the other.

At that time the fights were pretty tough, the bout took place until one of the fighters was completely incapacitated. But despite this, there were rules that could lead to the disqualification of a boxer. Punches below the belt were forbidden, it was impossible to hit if the opponent was on his knees, it was forbidden to make grapples and hold-downs. Fighting without gloves, although popular in England, but the authorities were against such competitions. A bare-knuckle fight would not infrequently end in severe injury to the fighters, and rowdy fans could put up a fight among themselves. The official fight required permission from the local authorities. In cases where permission was not obtained, the contest was held in quiet and deserted places. This was a severe offense that could lead to imprisonment.

In 1719, two of Britain’s strongest fighters, Figg and Sutton, met in the ring. The fight was for the title of champion and James Figg won. Figg was not only a boxer, but also a good swordsman and rapier fencer. He tried as much as possible to popularize boxing, to bring it to every corner of England and not only. Figg’s Boxing Academy was founded in 1722. The school taught the art of boxing, as well as fencing. A low fee was charged for the classes.
In 1743, English fighter Jack Broughton, a follower of James Figg, compiled a list of rules that formed the basis of boxing.
Ned Hend, the famous English boxer, Broughton’s disciple, introduced weight categories and also enriched boxing technique with new movements.

n 1867 a major change took place. Marquis Queensberry, together with the journalist John Chambers, developed a set of new rules, consisting of 12 points. Rounds began to last 3 minutes with a minute break between them, boxing gloves of both athletes had to have the same weight, stiff shoes were removed. Also, the well-known rule of counting 10 seconds was introduced, after the fall of one of the boxers.
The professional sport of boxing was established in 1892. That year, John Corbett and John Sullivan met in the ring. The last bare-knuckle champion of the world, Sullivan, lost by knockout in the 21st round.
Boxing became an Olympic sport in 1904 and has been a regular participant in the Olympics since 1920.

Greatest Boxers.

This list is controversial, it could be expanded to 50 boxers or reduced to two, three.

• American boxer Joe Louis is world heavyweight champion. He has 72 wins with 3 losses.
• Rocky Marciano is an undefeated boxer, world heavyweight champion.
• Another American, Sugar Ray Robinson is World Middleweight and Light Heavyweight Champion. He has 173 wins and only 19 losses.
• Probably the most famous boxer of all time is Cassius Clay or Mohamed Ali – world heavyweight champion. In his credit he has 56 wins and 5 defeats
• Mike Tyson is the heavyweight champion of the world. He was noted for his tremendous power and speed. Mike had the fastest fight in the history of boxing, the result was listed in the
• Guinness Book of Records.