Sports

History of Boxing

Jose Velazquez, Staff Reporter

November 18, 2024

Two Gladiators enter the Colosseum, both with hands wrapped in leather and nail, ready to rush at one another with the intent to kill. This was one of the first versions of the spectacle that is modern boxing.

Gladiatorial battle

An image of what Roman warriors wore on their hands while boxing.

Boxing is one of the oldest depicted sports still practiced today, dating back to 3000 BC Egypt where Egyptians were depicted fighting one another with the use of what looks to be an early boxing glove. Following the fall of the ancient Egyptians, boxing gained fame and popularity in Ancient Greece: two men would sit face to face with their fists tightly wrapped in strips of leather and would punch one another until one passed out or even died. This practice was later banned for being deemed too savage in 393 AD.

Rome, most popular for their Gladiatorial battles, also had their own version of boxing, in which two men entered an arena wearing cestus, leather gloves wrapped in metal studs or even sometimes nails. In Rome, boxing was seen as a brutal sport used to toughen up soldiers; the intent was to kill your opponent. Boxing was again banned around 400 CE by Rome’s emperor at the time because of the violence and amount of death surrounding the sport.

Revival

An image of what the first boxing gloves looked like. These boxing gloves were first called mufflers.

Later, after gaining traction again in England, boxing’s popularity stayed stagnant following the end of both the Greece and Roman empires. The first ever boxing match took place on January 16, 1681, and was between Christopher Monck’s butler and his butcher. This early version of fighting was first a means to settle a dispute between the rich and had no written rules, but it paved the way for boxing today. Later, in 1743, the first set of official boxing rules was dubbed as the Broughton Rules. They were put into place following the death of boxers who suffered fight related injuries. These new rules ensured the safety of those fighting in the ring, such as “no hitting a downed opponent” and a 30 second knockdown limit. Most importantly, Jack Broughton, the man who developed these rules also developed the first boxing gloves called mufflers.

Picture of Heavyweight Boxer John L. Sullivan who made history as the first heavyweight boxing champion.

New rules

The Broughton Rules continued to govern boxing until 1838 when the Original London Prize Ring Rules were put into place. These rules were later revised in 1853 and controlled the sport until the end of the 19th century.

The most recent version of boxing rules that both amateur and professional bouts use today are the Queensberry Rules. These rules were drafted in 1857 by boxer John Graham Chambers under the mantle of John Sholto Douglas, 8th Marquis of Queensberry.

John L. Sullivan later made history as the first heavyweight boxing champion under the Queensberry Ruling System.

Advancements in boxing

Following the fruition of the Queensberry Rules, multiple advancements were made in boxing that paved the way for legendary boxers like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

Boxing gloves were enhanced to have more padding in the gloves to reduce more risks of injury.
In 1902, the first mouth guard was made by dentist Jake Marles to protect the teeth of the fighters.
Equipment, like punching and speed bags, became more sophisticated as they became composed of more refined materials.

Golden Age

Picture of Joe Louis VS Schleming rematch. Joe Louis is seen to be on the offensive.

The Golden Age of Boxing, or the most popular years of boxing, was widely regarded in the 1920’s and spanned until the 70’s. Prominent boxers such as Jack Dempsey, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, and George Foreman all competed during this Golden Age and greatly contributed to the sport’s popularity. Most people know boxing due to popular boxers, like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, who competed during this time period.

During this age of boxing it was often taboo for African Americans to be in the limelight, which made it harder for boxers of color to pick up fights. Boxers of color were often refused fights from white fighters and in some cases were forced to throw a fight.

This discriminatory age of boxing continued until boxer Joe Louis fought German boxer Schmeling in a rematch. Joe Louis’s first round knockout win over Schemling in 1938 contributed to Louis serving as a symbol of triumph for all races, thus ending the stigma behind African Americans in the boxing world.

By the 21st century, African American boxers were very dominant in the sport of boxing and the most famous boxers.

Is boxing still popular?

Nowadays, boxing is very mixed in terms of popularity, having declined since the 1900’s because of the wide variety of additional combat sports entertainment, like MMA, wrestling, and jujitsu.

On the other hand, boxing is the most profitable it’s ever been in 20th to 21st centuries with boxers like the famed Floyd “Money” Mayweather making the most money any boxer has made with one fight alone. His most popular bout was against Conor McGregor, making him over 280 million dollars.

An image of Mayweather’s bout against Conor McGregor from ESPN.

Boxing has not been all positive in recent years, though, with multiple controversies surrounding the sport. In addition, doping allegations, rigged fights, and many broken promises have led to some dropping the sport as a whole. Most recently, controversy surrounding Ryan Garcia surfaced. He received a one year ban from professional boxing for failing drug tests after his bout with Devin Haney, leading to an eventual no contest for the fight.

Still, boxing thrives on huge fighters like Canelo Álvarez, Bud Crawford, and Oleksandr Usyk, who will possibly lead viewers to the most entertaining years of boxing ahead.

Image of some of the most popular boxers right now. On the right is Usyk, next to him is Canelo, and next to Canelo is Crawford.

Works Cited:

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