Boxing

Boxing is one of the world’s oldest sports, appearing in the original incarnation of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, with evidence of its practice dating back to the earliest records of human civilization. The modern sport has given American culture a number of colorful and iconic figures, including Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, and Muhammad Ali.

In the twenty-first century, however, the sport of boxing has experienced a relative decline in popularity when compared to previous eras. However, the advent of “pay-per-view” television events, coupled with the emergence of several charismatic figures (such as Manny Pacquiao), has led boxing into an era that officials hope will return the sport to its former glory.

Origins and History

Experts believe the sport of boxing dates to the third millennium BCE. Clay tablets unearthed from this period depict two fighters engaged in fisticuffs. Minoan frescos from around 1600 BCE even depict fighters wearing gloves. Ancient Egyptians are believed to have also practiced boxing—art from the era shows pairs of fighters engaged in barefisted combat before the Pharaoh.

Boxing continued over the millennia, carrying through to ancient Greece. During the seventh century BCE, the Greeks included hand-to-hand fighting in the sporting homage to the gods known as the Olympic Games. Centuries later, the Roman Empire performed boxing (known as pugilatus, which gave rise to the modern term “pugilism”) in two arenas. The first of these was competitive sport, and the second was in gladiatorial combat. The Romans also introduced boxing attire, including hand straps, but this attire was designed to inflict the maximum amount of injury on the opponent. By the fourth century CE, the Romans banned pugilatus in light of its brutal and non-Christian nature.

Although it was no longer treated as an official sport, boxing continued to be practiced as unsanctioned bare-knuckle fighting. The sport had few to no rules and, therefore, continued to be brutal. In early eighteenth-century England, bare-knuckle fighting was highly popular, especially with the rise of James Figg. An accomplished fencer, Figg joined the realm of bare-knuckle fighting in the early 1700s and, over the course of his career, fought in three hundred bouts. He also earned the first championship of English bare-knuckle boxing, holding on to that title until he retired unbeaten in 1730. Figg died a few years later as the result of the many injuries he sustained while boxing. Shortly after Figg’s death, a pupil of his, Jack Broughton, introduced a series of rules to the sport, including the dimensions of the ring, timing for boxers who fell to the ground during a fight, and the famous “no hitting below the belt” rule. A century later, boxing—which was regaining its stature as a legitimate sport—was again modified with the introduction of Marquess of Queensberry Rules. The 1867 rules created the ten-second count, the three-minute round, and the requirement that boxers wear padded gloves in the ring. Today, many of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules are still enforced in boxing.

During the Great Depression, boxing offered a rare economic stimulus. From both an entertainment and a gambling perspective, the popularity of the sport peaked, as venues scrambled to host events.

Rules and Regulations

Today, professional boxing is regulated by the International Boxing Federation. Although they have been modified somewhat over the last two hundred years, the Marquess of Queensberry Rules still apply. There are two competitors engaged in a contest consisting of three-minute rounds. If a boxer is knocked to the ground, he or she has ten seconds to return to his or her feet or else be counted out. If the boxer is knocked out of the ring altogether, he or she has twenty seconds to return. Additionally, boxers cannot use the ring ropes as leverage to hit their opponents, nor can they “tie up” their opponent by hugging his or her arms to prevent being hit.

Much of boxing’s rules are designed to ensure as best as possible the safety of the competitors. For example, in addition to the ban on hitting below the belt line, boxers are banned from hitting their opponents in the kidneys or at the base of the skull (a “rabbit punch”)—both types of hitting can cause severe injury and, in some cases, death.

Professional boxing usually utilizes the Ten-Point Must system to score a given match. A boxer is awarded a victory in a round when he or she lands clean punches, shows effective aggressiveness and ring command, and demonstrates a solid defense. If a boxer shows more of these qualities than his or her opponent, he or she is awarded ten points, while the opponent is awarded less than ten (with knockdowns resulting in the loss of more points). At the end of the match, a panel of three judges assesses their individual scoring sheets and awards the winner.

The clearest manner by which a boxer wins a match is by knocking down his or her opponent in such a way that the opponent cannot stand up again in time. This action is known as a knockout. Another manner in which a victory may be awarded without going to the judges is when one of the boxers simply overpowers the opponent, landing punches with no clear defense offered by that individual. In such cases, the referee will call an end to the match (in order to protect the health of the opponent) and award a technical knockout (TKO) to the winner.

There are four possible outcomes of a professional boxing match when there is no knockout or TKO. The first is a unanimous decision, wherein all three judges identify the same boxer as the winner of the match. The second is a split decision, wherein two of the three judges select the same boxer despite the fact that the third judge chose his or her opponent as the winner. The third outcome is a majority decision, wherein two of the three judges declare the same boxer the winner while the third judge calls the match a draw. Finally, the judges might either individually come to different conclusions (one judge votes for one boxer, a second votes for the opponent, and the third judge declares no winner), creating a draw.

Strategy and Tactics

There are a number of important strategies and tactics a boxer must employ in order to become successful. These strategies may best be separated into two categories: improving one’s own boxing attributes and punch repertoire, and carefully studying the fighting style of the opponent. Boxing is a sport that relies heavily on speed, endurance, and strength, but an individual match may be won or lost based on a boxer’s preparation for that match.

In the first strategic category, boxers must spend a great deal of time physically prepping for a match. Professional boxers may spend several months training, lifting weights, honing their footwork, and sparring with a partner in the ring. A boxer must also ensure that his or her cache of punches is perfected. During a match, the boxer may quickly need to land a jab, uppercut, or a combination of up-close punches when the opportunity arises.

In the second category, a professional boxer must carefully study his or her opponent. In this capacity, video of the opponent in other matches can be viewed in order to assess that individual’s punch repertoire, footwork, speed, and general boxing style. Often, a boxer will have a general style of fighting or specific motions he or she will make before throwing a punch (“telegraphing”)—if the opponent is familiar with either of these characteristics, he or she will be prepared to avoid contact and/or throw an effective counterpunch. Studying the opponent will also reveal shortcomings in that person’s style. For example, an opponent may lose strength or speed after a certain number of rounds—a boxer who knows this fact may avoid attempting a knockout early and instead attempt to push the match into later rounds where the opponent is more vulnerable.

Professional Leagues and Series

Professional boxing, which consists of both men’s and women’s divisions, is divided into weight classes. There are seventeen such weight classes for both men and women, and in general, the two divisions’ weight classes are the same. There are exceptions to this rule, however. Men’s boxing, for example, includes two classes not available for women: the super welterweight and cruiserweight classes. In women’s boxing, on the other hand, there are junior middleweight and miniflyweight classes—neither such category is available in men’s boxing.

The classes for women’s boxing starts at strawweight. From this level are mini flyweight, junior flyweight, flyweight, super flyweight or junior bantamweight, bantamweight, super bantamweight or junior featherweight, featherweight, super featherweight or junior lightweight, lightweight, super lightweight or junior welterweight, welterweight, junior middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight.

There are four major international organizations that name championship belts for boxers in these categories—the World Boxing Association (WBA), the aforementioned International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council (WBC), and the World Boxing Organization (WBO). Boxers may frequently carry multiple titles, spanning the different organizations involved in international professional boxing.

Popularity

Until the late twentieth century, boxing had enjoyed a great deal of widespread appeal. Even nonboxing fans had heard of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and Joe Louis. After its heyday, however, boxing lacked corporate sponsorship and had few long-term television contracts. There remained a strong, but relatively small (in comparison to professional football and baseball) fan base, and with only a handful of charismatic figures—most notably former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson— boxing declined in popularity outside of gambling centers such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Boxing promoters have attempted to reverse this trend by advancing some new names for casual sports fans. Manny Pacquiao, Wladimir Klitschko, and the controversial yet highly accomplished Floyd Mayweather Jr. are among the sport’s biggest names. Pacquiao (a boxer who also holds political office in the Philippines), Klitschko (a Ukrainian heavyweight who has held a number of titles for several years), and Mayweather (a charismatic, high-energy champion) give the sport both cosmopolitan and character appeal. The success of these three boxers specifically has allowed the sport to maintain a certain level of popularity. Surveys have shown that boxing has a larger mainstream fan base than wrestling and mixed martial arts and that it enjoys a great deal of support among African Americans and Hispanics. Promoters are using the success, charisma, and character appeal of the sport’s current complement of champions to widen this fan base.

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