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Boxing

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For other uses, see Boxing (disambiguation) or Boxer (disambiguation)

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File:Louis-Marciano-1955-01.jpg
Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano at Madison Square Garden, 1951
File:Chavez-Robinson-2005.jpg
Julio Cesar Chavez and Ivan Robinson at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles, 2005
File:Khan-Kindelan-2004-01.jpg
Amir Khan of Britain and Mario Cesar Kindelan Mesa of Cuba at the Athens Olympics, 2004

Boxing, nicknamed the "sweet science" and also called pugilism or prizefighting, is a sport where two participants of similar weight attack each other with their fists in a series of two to three-minute intervals called "rounds". In both Amateur and Professional divisions, the combatants (called boxers or fighters) avoid their opponent's punches whilst trying to land punches of their own. Points are awarded for clean, solid blows to the legal area on the front of the opponent's body above the waistline, with hits to the head and torso especially valuable. The fighter with the most points after the scheduled number of rounds is declared the winner. Victory may also be achieved if the opponent is knocked down and unable get up before the referee counts to ten (a Knockout, or KO) or if the opponent is deemed too injured to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO).

Origins

Earliest evidence suggests that boxing was prevalent in North Africa during 4000 BC and the Mediterranean in 1500 BC.

A Greek ruler named Thesus, who ruled around 900 B.C., was entertained by men who would seat in front of each other and beat another with their fists until one of them was killed. In time, the fighters fought on their feet and wore gloves (not padded) and wrappings on their arms below the elbows, but were otherwise naked when competing. First accepted as an Olympic sport (the ancient Greeks called it Pygmachia) in 688 BC, participants in the ancient games trained on punching bags (called a korykos). Keeping their fingers free, fighters then wore leather straps (called himantes) on their hands, wrists, and sometimes lower arms, to protect them from injury.

In Rome, fighters were usually criminals and slaves. They hoped to become champions and gain their freedom. However, free men also fought. Eventually, fist fighting became so popular that even aristocrats started fighting, but that was banned by the ruler Augustus. In 500 A.D., the sport was banned by Theodoric the Great.

London Prize Ring rules (1839)

The beginnings of the modern right cross demonstrated in Edmund Price's The Science of Self Defense: A Treatise on Sparring and Wrestling, 1867

Records of boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire. The sport would later resurface in English during the early 18th century in the form of bare-knuckle prizefighting. The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the "London Protestant Mercury," and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used.

Early bare-knuckle fighting was crude with no written rules. There were no weight divisions, round limits and no referee. Modern rules banning gouging, grappling, biting, headbutting, fish-hooking and blows below the belt were absent.

The first boxing rules were introduced by heavyweight champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred. Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below the waist were prohibited. Broughton also invented "mufflers" (padded gloves), which were used in training and exhibitions.

In 1839, the London Prize Ring rules were introduced which superceded Jack Broughton's rules. Later revised in 1853, they stipulated the following:

  • Fights occur in a 24-foot-square ring surrounded by ropes.
  • If a fighter was knocked down, he must rise within 30 seconds of his own power to be allowed to continue.
  • Biting, headbutting and hitting below the belt were declared fouls.

Marquess of Queensberry rules (1867)

In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights, Middleweights and Heavyweights. The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry, whose name has always been associated with them.

There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in a 24-foot-square ring. Rounds were three minutes long with one minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down and wrestling was banned.

The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. Gloves protected the hands of both fighters but their considerable size and weight made knock-out victories more difficult to achieve. Resultantly, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling.

The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett, who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans.

With the gradual acceptance of formalised rules, two distinct branches of boxing emerged; Professional and Amateur. The boxing rules enforced by governing bodies worldwide today at the local, national and international level are all derived in some way from the Marquis of Queensberry Rules.

Amateur boxing

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Guillermo Rigondeaux Ortiz of Cuba and Worapoj Petchkoom of Thailand at the Athens Olympics, 2004

In amateur boxing (the version of the sport found at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games) the primary emphasis is on landing scoring punches rather than concern with doing physical damage to one's opponent. Competitors wear protective headgear and box for three to five rounds of two or three minutes each. Gloves in amateur boxing have a white strip across the knuckle. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands on the head or torso is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows (a belt worn over the torso represents the lower limit of punches - any boxer repeatedly landing "low blows" is disqualified). Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging (if this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized, or ultimately, disqualified).

Also, in amateur boxing, referees will readily step in and stop the contest even if the competitor is only relatively lightly injured. As a result, the risk of grievous injury is sufficiently reduced in amateur boxing versus professional boxing.

Amateur boxing history

The Queensberry Amateur Championships continued from 1867 to 1885, and so, unlike their professional counterparts, amateur boxers did not deviate from using gloves once the Queensberry Rules had been published. In Britain, the Amateur Boxing Association (A.B.A.) was formed in 1880 when twelve clubs affiliated. It held its first championships the following year. Four weight classes were contested, Featherweight (9 stone), Lightweight (10 stone), Middleweight (11 stone, 4 pounds) and Heavyweight (no limit). (A stone is equal to 14 pounds). By 1902, American boxers were contesting the titles in the A.B.A. Championships, which, therefore, took on an international complexion. By 1924, the A.B.A. had 105 clubs in affiliation.

Boxing first appeared at the Olympic Games in 1904 and, apart from the Games of 1912, has always been part of them. From 1972 through 2004, Cuba and the United States have won the most Gold Medals, 29 for Cuba and 21 for the U.S. Internationally, amateur boxing spread steadily throughout the first half of the 20th century, but when the first international body, the Federation Internationale de Boxe Amateur (International Amateur Boxing Federation) was formed in Paris in 1920, there were only five member nations. In 1946, however, when the International Amateur Boxing Association (A.I.B.A.) was formed in London, twenty-four nations from five continents were represented, and the A.I.B.A. has continued to be the official world federation of amateur boxing ever since. The first World Amateur Boxing Championships were staged in 1974.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, amateur boxing was encouraged in schools, universities and in the armed forces, but the champions usually came from among the urban poor.

Women's boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1904. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing Association sanctioned its first boxing competition for women in 1997. The first event was to be between two thirteen-year-olds, but one of the boxers withdrew because of hostile media attention. Four weeks later, an event was held between two sixteen-year-olds.

The A.I.B.A. accepted new rules for Women's Boxing at the end of the 20th century and approved the first European Cup for Women in 1999 and the first World Championship for women in 2001. Women's boxing will be an exhibition sport at the 2008 Olympics, but it won't become an official Olympic sport at the 2012 Olympics.

Fights at the amateur boxing level were scored by five judges, who gave 20 points to whoever they thought won a round, and 19 or less to the loser. This form of scoring changed after the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul, when Michael Carbajal and Roy Jones Jr. lost their gold medal fights to South Korean opponents, with the boxing media generally believing that Carbajal and Jones Jr. should have won their bouts. It was later discovered that the judges had been bribed to give South Koreans the gold medals against Carbajal and Jones Jr. Ironically, at the same Games, a South Korean boxer sat in the ring for about 90 minutes after being declared the loser in a fight he thought he should have won.

As a consequence of all the controversies of the 1988 Olympic boxing competition, a new scoring system was invented for amateur boxing: using a computer, judges must press a button every time they think a boxer landed a punch. When three or more of the five judges press the button within a second of each other, the punch counts as a "point" for the fighter that landed it. Punches to the head or face of an opponent usually score the most points for a competitor. At any point of the fight in which a fighter is leading by twenty points (or sometimes more), the referee is indicated and the fight is stopped, the leading fighter winning by "mercy", and credited with a knockout.

Professional boxing

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Antonio Tarver and Glen Johnson at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, 2005

Professional bouts are far longer than amateur bouts (ranging from four to twelve rounds), headgear is not permitted, and boxers are generally allowed to take much more punishment before a fight is halted. At any time, however, the referee may stop the contest if he believes that one participant can not or should not continue to box. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win, which appears on the boxer's record as a knockout win (or loss). A technical knockout would also be awarded if a fighter lands a punch that opens a cut on the opponent, and the opponent is later deemed not fit to continue by a doctor because of the cut. If a boxer simply quits fighting, or if his corner stops the fight, then the winning boxer is also awarded a technical knockout victory.

If a knockout or disqualification does not occur, the fight must go to the scorecards. Professional fights have three judges each, and each of the judges must use the 10 point must system: Under this system, each time a boxer wins a round in the judges' eyes, the judge gives that boxer 10 points, and the other 9 or less. If the judge deems the round to be a tie, he or she may score it 10-10. When the fight reaches its scheduled distance, all scores are added, round by round, to determine who won on each judges' cards. When all three judges have the same boxer as the winner, this is an unanimous decision. When two judges have one boxer winning the fight and the other one has it a tie, this is called a majority decision. When two judges have one boxer winning the fight and the other judge has the other boxer winning, this is called a split decision. When one judge gives his or her vote to one boxer, another one gives it to the other boxer, and the third judge calls it a tie, this is a draw. It is also a draw when two judges score the fight a tie, regardless of who the third judge score the bout for.

In Britain, the bout is only scored by the referee, except when a title is at stake, in which case it is scored by three judges.

If a fight can not go on because of an injury caused to one of the competitors by a headbutt, there are different rules: If the fight has not reached the end of round three, (in some places, round four), the fight is declared a technical draw or a no contest. If it has reached beyond the end of round three (or four), then the scorecards are read and whoever is ahead, wins by a technical decision.

Evolution of professional boxing

In 1891, the National Sporting Club (N.S.C.), a private club in London, began to promote professional glove fights at its own premises, and created nine of its own rules to augment the Queensberry Rules. These rules specified more accurately the role of the officials, and produced a system of scoring that enabled the referee to decide the result of a fight. The British Boxing Board of Control (B.B.B.C.) was first formed in 1919 with close links to the N.S.C., and was re-formed in 1929 after the N.S.C. closed.

In 1909, the first of twenty-two belts were presented by the fifth Earl of Lonsdale to the winner of a British title fight held at the N.S.C. In 1929, the B.B.B.C. continued to award Lonsdale Belts to any British boxer who won three title fights in the same weight division. The "title fight" has always been the focal point in professional boxing. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, however, there were title fights at each weight. Promoters who could stage profitable title fights became influential in the sport, as did boxers' managers. The best promoters and managers have been instrumental in bringing boxing to new audiences and provoking media and public interest. The most famous of all three-way partnership (fighter-manager-promoter) was that of Jack Dempsey (Heavyweight Champion, 1919-1926), his manager Jack Kearns, and the promoter Tex Rickard. Together they grossed US$ 8.4 million in only five fights between 1921 and 1927 and ushered in a "golden age" of popularity for professional boxing in the 1920s. They were also responsible for the first live radio broadcast of a title fight (Dempsey v. Georges Carpentier, in 1921). In Britain, Jack Solomons' success as a fight promoter helped re-establish professional boxing after the Second World War and made Britain a popular place for title fights in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the first part of the 20th century, the United States became the centre for professional boxing. It was generally accepted that the "world champions" were those listed by the Police Gazette. After 1920, the National Boxing Association (N.B.A.) began to sanction "title fights". Also during that time, Ring Magazine magazine was founded and it listed champions and awarded championship belts. The N.B.A. was renamed in 1962 and became the World Boxing Association (W.B.A.). The following year, a rival body, the World Boxing Council (W.B.C.), was formed. In 1983, another world body, the International Boxing Federation (I.B.F.) was formed. By the end of the 20th century, a boxer had to be recognized by the three separate bodies to be the "Undisputed World Champion". Regional sanctioning bodies such as the North American Boxing Federation, the North American Boxing Council and the United States Boxing Association also awarded championships. Ring Magazine also continued listing the World Champion of each weight division, and its rankings continue being of the most appreciated by fans.

Although women fought professionally in many countries, in Britain the B.B.B.C. refused to issue licences to women until 1998. By the end of the century, however, they had issued five such licenses. The first sanctioned bout between women was in November 1998 at Streatham in London, between Jane Couch and Simona Lukic.

Equipment

Boxing techniques utilize very forceful strikes with the hand. There are many bones in the hand, and striking surfaces without proper technique can cause serious hand injuries. Today, most trainers do not allow boxers to train and spar without handwraps and gloves. Handwraps are used to secure the bones in the hand, and the gloves are used to protect the hands from blunt injury, allowing boxers to throw punches with more force than if they did not utilize them.

Headgear, used in amateur boxing, protects against cuts, scrapes, and swelling, but does not protect very well against concussions. Headgear does not sufficiently protect the brain from the jarring that occurs when the head is struck with great force. Also, most boxers aim for the chin on opponents, and the chin is usually not padded. Thus, a powerpunch can do a lot of damage to a boxer, and even a jab that connects to the chin can cause damage, regardless of whether or not headgear is being utilized.

Length of bouts

For decades, from the 1920s to the 1980s, world championship matches in professional boxing were scheduled for fifteen rounds, but that changed with the death of boxer Duk Koo Kim, who died after a lightweight title fight with Ray Mancini in November of 1982. After Kim's death, the World Boxing Council reduced the number of their championship fights to twelve rounds. By 1988, to the displeasure of many boxing purists, all fights had been reduced to a maximum of 12 rounds only.

Technique

Stance and movement

Development

The modern boxing stance is a reflection of the current system of rules employed by professional boxing. It differs in many ways from the typical boxing stances of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It's been stated that Americans adopted a more upright vertical armed guard (as opposed to more horizontally held, knuckles facing the ground guard as seen when looking at early 20th century boxers such as Jack Johnson) due to the Americans' confrontations with the Filipino natives as a result of the Philippines Spanish-American war. When engaged in hand to hand combat, the Filipinos would slash the wrists of the American soldiers, the Americans adapted by changing the guarded stance and thus just one example of a boxing technicality evolving.

The Boxer's Stance

The following stance applies for a right-handed boxer. The boxer stands with the legs shoulder-width apart with the right foot a half-step behind the left foot. The left (lead) fist is held vertically about six inches in front of the face at eye level. The right (rear) fist is held beside the chin and the elbow tucked against the ribcage to protect the body. The chin is tucked into the chest to avoid punches to the jaw which commonly cause knock-outs. Modern boxers can sometimes be seen "tapping" their cheeks or foreheads with their fists in order to remind themselves to kept their hands up (which becomes difficult during long bouts).

Movement

Modern boxers are taught to "push off" with their feet in order to move effectively. Forward motion involves lifting the lead leg and pushing with the rear leg. Rearward motion involves lifting the rear leg and pushing with the lead leg. During lateral motion the leg in the direction of the movement moves first while the opposite leg provides the force needed to move the body.

Punches

There are four basic punches in boxing: the Jab, Cross, Hook and Uppercut. If a boxer is right-handed, his left hand is the lead hand, his right hand is the rear hand and vice versa. The following techniques apply to a right-handed boxer. A right-handed boxer's handedness is commonly described as orthodox. A left-handed boxer is called an unorthodox boxer or a Southpaw.

File:Hatton-Tszyu-2005-01.jpg
Kostya Tszyu and Ricky Hatton at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England, 2005
  • Jab - A quick, straight punch thrown with the lead hand from the guard position. The jab is accompanied by a small, clockwise rotation of the torso and hips, while the fist rotates through 180 degrees, becoming horizontal upon impact. As the punch reaches full extension, the lead shoulder is brought up to guard the chin. The rear hand remains next to the face to guard the jaw. After making contact with the target, the lead hand is retracted quickly to resume a guard position in front of the face. The jab is the most important punch in a boxer's arsenal because it provides a fair amount of its own cover and it leaves the least amount of space for a counterpunch from the opponent. It has the longest reach of any punch and does not require commitment or large weight transfers. It is thus used as a tool to gauge distances, probe an opponent's defenses, and set up heavier, more powerful punches. A half-step may be added, moving the entire body into the punch, for additional power.
  • Cross - A powerful straight punch thrown with the rear hand. From the guard position, the rear hand is thrown from the chin, crossing the body and travelling towards the target in a straight line. The rear shoulder is thrust forward and finishes just touching the outside of the chin. At the same time, the lead hand is retracted and placed against the face to protect the inside of the chin. For additional power, the torso and hips are rotated anti-clockwise as the cross is thrown. Weight is also transferred from the rear foot to the lead foot, resulting in the rear heel turning outwards as it acts as a fulcrum for the transfer of weight. Body rotation and the sudden weight transfer is what gives the cross its power. Like the jab, a half-step forward may be added. After the cross is thrown, the hand is retracted quickly and the guard position resumed. It can be used to counterpunch a jab, aiming for the opponent's head (or a counter to a cross aimed at the body) or to set up a hook. The cross can also follow a jab, creating the classic "one-two combo." The cross is also called a "straight" or "right."
  • Hook - A semi-circular punch thrown with the lead hand to the side of the opponent's head. From the guard position, the elbow is drawn back with a horizontal fist (knuckles pointing forward) and the elbow bent. The rear hand is tucked firmly against the jaw to protect the chin. The torso and hips are rotated clockwise, propelling the fist through a tight, clockwise arc across the front of the body and connecting with the target. At the same time, the lead foot pivots clockwise, turning the left heel outwards. Upon contact, the hook's circular path ends abruptly and the lead hand is pulled quickly back into the guard position. A hook may also target the lower body (the classic Mexican hook to the liver) and this technique is sometimes called the "rip" to distinguish it from the conventional hook to the head. The hook may also be thrown with the rear hand.
  • Uppercut - A vertical, rising punch thrown with the rear hand. From the guard position, the torso shifts slightly to the right, the rear hand drops below the level of the opponent's chest and the knees are bent slightly. From this position, the rear hand is thrust upwards in a rising arc towards the opponent's chin or torso. At the same time, the knees push upwards quickly and the torso and hips rotate anti-clockwise and the rear heel turns outward, mimicking the body movement of the cross. The strategic utility of the uppercut depends on its ability to "lift" the opponent's body, setting it off-balance for successive attacks. The right uppercut followed by a left hook is a deadly combination.

Defense

  • Slip - Slipping rotates the body slightly so that an incoming punch passes harmlessly next to the head. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer sharply rotates the hips and shoulders. This turns the chin sideways and allows the punch to "slip" past.
File:Pacquiao-Morales-2005.jpg
Filipino southpaw Manny Pacquiao parries an Erik Morales jab
  • Bob and Weave - Bobbing moves the head laterally and beneath an incoming punch. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer bends the legs quickly and simultaneously shifts the body either slightly right or left. Once the punch has been evaded, the boxer "weaves" back to an upright position, emerging on either the outside or inside of the opponent's still-extended arm. To move outside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the outside". To move inside the opponent's extended arm is called "bobbing to the inside".
  • Parry - Parrying uses the boxer's hands as defensive tools to deflect incoming attacks. As the opponent's punch arrives, the boxer delivers a sharp, lateral, open-handed blow to the opponent's wrist or forearm, redirecting the punch.
  • The Cover-Up - Covering up is the last line of defense against an incoming strike to an unprotected face or body. Generally speaking, the hands are held high to protect the head and chin and the forearms are tucked against the torso to impede body shots. When protecting the body, the boxer rotates the hips and lets incoming punches "roll" off the guard. When protecting the head, the boxer presses both fists against the front of the face with the forearms parallel and facing outwards.
  • The Clinch - Clinching is a rough form of grappling and occurs when the distance between both fighters has closed and straight punches cannot be employed. In this situation, the boxer attempts to hold or "tie up" the opponent's hands so he is unable to throw roundhouse punches or uppercuts. To perform a clinch, the boxer loops both hands around the outside of the opponent's shoulders, scooping back under the forearms to grasp the opponent's arms tightly against his own body. In this position, the opponent's arms are pinned and cannot be used to attack. Clinching is a temporary match state and is quickly dissipated by the referee.

Tactics and strategy

The "Rope-a-dope"

  • A tactic famously used by Muhammad Ali in his 1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" bout against George Foreman. The rope-a-dope method involves laying back on the ropes, covering up defensively as much as possible and allowing the opponent to land punches. Weathering the blows, the fighter lures the opponent into expending his energy whilst conserving his own. If successful, the attacking opponent will eventually tire, creating defensive flaws which the fighter now exploits. However, the rope-a-dope is generally discouraged in modern boxing since most opponents are not fooled by it and few boxers possess the physical toughness to withstand a prolonged, unanswered assault.

Bolo punch

  • Occasionally seen in amateur boxing, the bolo is an arm punch which owes its power to the shortening of a circular arc rather than to transference of body weight; it tends to have more of an effect due to the surprise of the odd angle it lands at rather than the actual power of the punch. This is more of a gimmick than a technical maneuver, this punch is not taught, it is on the same plane in boxing technicality as is the Ali shuffle.

Boxing legends

The boxing world has produced talented and world famous personalities in both the amateur and professional realms. Famous amateur boxers have usually been Olympic medallists. The Olympic games have long been considered a springboard for professional entry, though some Olympic champions prefer to retain their amateur status, including three-time gold medalist Teofilo Stevenson. It is the professional side of boxing, however, that has produced the celebrities whose activities the public has generally followed.

London rules and pre-Queensberry era

The bareknuckle era produced legends like John L. Sullivan, the first world heavyweight champion. Sullivan has been called the first great American sports hero.

1900s to 1920s

It is the post-Queensberry (or Modern) era that has the greatest number of legendary boxers, such as world heavyweight champions Jim Jeffries (the first Great White Hope) and Jack Johnson (the first black world heavyweight champion), who fought each other in 1910 in the first "Fight of the Century".

1920s to 1940s

Jack Dempsey was one of the most important athletes of roaring twenties and became the World heavyweight champion after defeating Jess Willard. Joe Louis dominated the heavyweight scene for 12 years before retiring as world champion in 1949. Shortly before the beginning of WW2, the battles between Louis and Max Schmeling were seen as battles between America and Nazi Germany. Louis is considered by many one of the best boxers of the depression and possibly of all time. Another famous boxer, James Braddock (better known as the Cinderella Man) inspired many with his rags to riches story. He eventually fought his way to the heavyweight title and won against Max Baer who had 10 to 1 odds in his favor. Braddock finally lost his title to Joe Louis but made financial arrangements with him to receive 10% of the profits from the rest of Louis's fights.

1940s to 1960s

The 1950s had a boxer who would go down in history as the only undefeated world heavyweight champion: Rocky Marciano. The title of the movie Rocky was inspired by this legend. This era also had Sugar Ray Robinson, who most experts rate as the best pound-for-pound boxer of all time. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and the world middleweight title a record five times from 1951 to 1960. Another great of this period was Archie Moore, who held the world light heavyweight title for ten years and scored more knockout victories than any other boxer in history.

1960s to 1980s

The decades of the 1960s & 1970s are best remembered by the dominance of a boxer once named Cassius Clay, who said he would "shock the world." He joined the Nation of Islam, changed his name to Muhammad Ali, and declared himself against war. Many sociologists, observers, and critics now view Ali as a reflection of the changing society of that time. Ali had tough opponents like Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, and George Foreman, but proved himself to be the best heavyweight of his era, if not of all time. Larry Holmes (a former sparring partner of Ali) and the electric promoter Don King both gained prominence during this time.

After the retirement of Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard became the biggest star in the sport. In the late 1970s and the 1980s, Leonard won world titles in five different weight divisions, and was the first boxer to make 100 million dollars during his career.

1980s to present

If there was ever a bad boy of boxing, the title surely would go to a man who burst into professional boxing like a hurricane; Mike Tyson. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" because of his devastating punching power, Tyson took the world by storm. The most dominant figure on the heavyweight division in the mid-to-late 80s, he ran through his opponents like a wrecking ball, becoming the first undisputed champion in a decade. Both in and out of the ring, he was always in the news. He was jailed multiple times, barred from boxing for a year after biting a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear, and going into bankruptcy. When he fought his last title fight, against Lennox Lewis in 2002, he was beaten thoroughly and knocked out. Lewis, the only British heavyweight titleholder in the 20th century, retired as champion.

Roy Jones, Jr. was the most dominant fighter of the 1990s and early 2000s. He won world titles in four different weight divisions, from middleweight to heavyweight. When he defeated John Ruiz to win the WBA heavyweight title, he was the first former middleweight champion to win a heavyweight title since Bob Fitzsimmons accomplished the feat over one hundred years earlier.

Oscar De La Hoya was possibly the most popular boxer of his era. He won titles from junior lightweight to middleweight. With good looks and charisma, along with plenty of boxing talent, he became the richest non-heavyweight in the history of boxing.

British boxing legends

Great Britain, the birth place of modern boxing, has produced numerous boxing legends. Among British amateur boxers, only those who won Olympic gold medals tended to achieve recognition beyond the limits of boxing enthusiasts. They included Harry Mallin (Middleweight), 1920 and 1924), Terry Spinks (Flyweight, 1956), Dick McTaggart (Lightweight, 1956) and Chris Finnegan (Middleweight, 1968). In 1908, at the Olympic Games in London, five weight divisions were contested, Bantamweight, Featherweight, Lightweight, Middleweight and Heavyweight. British boxers won them all, and four of the finals were all-British!

It is the professional side of boxing, however, that has produced the celebrities whose activities the public have generally followed. In the period between bare-knuckle pugilism and post-Queensberry boxing, Jem Mace was important. He carried many of the traditions of the old London Prize-Ring, but promoted the use of gloves and helped to popularize the sport in the United States and Australia. In the post-Queensberry era, the first British fighter to achieve superstar status was Bob Fitzsimmons. He weighed less than 12 stone but won world titles at Middleweight (1892), Light Heavyweight (1903), and Heavyweight (1897). He fought his last bout at the age of fifty-two.

Successful fighters have provoked fierce local pride. The best example was Jimmy Wilde, a Welsh flyweight who won the world Flyweight Championship in 1916 and held it until 1923. He once had a sequence of eighty-eight fights without defeat. Between 1911 and 1923, he won seventy-five of his fights by a knockout. He was idolized in Wales, where they commonly believed him to be the best boxer, pound-for-pound, that ever lived. He was described as the "Mighty Atom" and "the ghost with a hammer in his hand".

The Scots had a similar pride in Benny Lynch, a flyweight from Glasgow, who held the world flyweight title in 1935 and again in 1937. Over the years, Scots have had great success at this weight; Jackie Paterson won the title in 1943 and Walter McGowan in 1966. Scots have also had success in the lightweight division. Ken Buchanan won the title in 1971 and Jim Watt in 1980.

In Northern Ireland, Rinty Monahan held the flyweight title from 1947 to 1950, and Barry McGuigan won the W.B.A. featherweight title in 1985.

England, too, had its successes at the lighter weights. Among the flyweights, Jackie Brown won the title in 1932, Peter Kane in 1938 and Terry Allen.

The Welsh had their own featherweight legend Jim Driscoll. His nickname was "Peerless Jim". He was born in the one time Irish "slum" of Newtown. Jim was the first outright winner of the Lord Lonsdale Belt. Jim had prolific wins of the British, Empire and European titles. Jim is considered by many to be the best pound for pound fighter of all time.

Britain has had other popular world champions. In the 1930s, Jackie Berg won the light welterweight title. In the 1940s, Freddie Mills won the light heavyweight title. In the 1950s and 1960s, Randy Turpin and Terry Downes won middleweight titles. and in the 1970s, John Conteh and John Stracey won the light heavyweight and welterweight titles respectively. With so many title-awarding bodies in the 1980s and 1990s, the public became unsure about who actually was the champion. Nevertheless, the successes of Nigel Benn, Naseem Hamed, Chris Eubank, and Joe Calzaghe continued to bring extensive media coverage to boxing and sustained a considerable public following.

The most popular boxers, however, have not always been the world title-holders. Just fighting for the world title in the heavyweight division can bestow celebrity status, as was shown by Henry Cooper, who twice unsuccessfully fought Muhammad Ali in the 1960s.

Britain had to wait 100 years to have its first heavyweight champion since Bob Fitzsimmons lost his title in 1899. Lennox Lewis became undisputed champion in 1999, having first gained the W.B.C. title in 1993. Frank Bruno held the W.B.C. world heavyweight title from 1995 and 1996, after beating the man who beat Lewis, Oliver McCall. He lost it to Mike Tyson in a rematch of their 1989 title bout.

Sue Atkins (alias Sue Catkins) helped to pioneer women's boxing in Britain in the 1980s, but without any official recognition. The first British woman to be issued with a license was Jane Couch from Fleetwood, who won the Women's International Boxing Federation (W.I.B.F.) welterweight title in 1996.

International Boxing Hall of Fame

For many years, the sport of boxing did not have a hall of fame. The inspiration for the boxing hall of fame evolved from a tribute the town of Canastota, New York held for two local heroes in 1982. The tribute was for Carmen Basilio, who was world welterweight and middleweight champion in the 1950s, and his nephew, Billy Backus, who was world welterweight champion in the early 1970s. The people of Canastota raised money for the tribute, which was so success that some started to look into the idea of creating the sport's first hall of fame and museum. The International Boxing Hall of Fame opened in Canastota in 1989. In 1990, the first group of legends were inducted, which included Jack Johnson, Benny Leonard, Jack Dempsey, Henry Armstrong, Sugar Ray Robinson, Archie Moore, and Muhammad Ali. The Hall of Fame holds it's induction ceremony every June as part of a four day event.

List of boxing history

For more information on the timeline of boxing history see

Medical concerns

In 1983, The Journal of the American Medical Association called for a ban on boxing. The editor, Dr. George Lundberg, called boxing an "obscenity" that "should not be sanctioned by any civilized society." Since the AMA called for abolition of boxing, the British, Canadian, Australian and World Medical Association have also called for the sport's abolition, as have the American Neurological Association and the American Academy of Neurology.

Many who disagree with the AMA point out that boxing is far from being the most dangerous of sports. To put the risks in perspective, here are some US figures on sports fatalities:

Fatality rates per 100,000 participants

  1. Horse racing: 128
  2. Sky diving: 123
  3. Hang gliding: 56
  4. Mountaineering: 51
  5. Scuba diving: 11
  6. Motorcycle racing: 7
  7. College football: 3
  8. Boxing: 1.3

(This table was compiled by R.J. McCunney and P.K. Russo, authors of an article entitled Brain Injuries in Boxing, which was published in 1984.)

In response to such statistics, Lundberg has said, "It's not the deaths but the chronic brain damage that is so frequent." the AMA says about three out of four boxers who have twenty or more professional fights show some brain deterioration.

Many who support the ban proposal consider its main reason is not the fact that boxing is a dangerous sport, but the fact that the goal of the sport is to cause injury to the opponent. Dr. Bill O'Neill, boxing spokesman for the British Medical Association, has said in support of the BMA's proposed ban on boxing, "It is the only sport where the intention is to inflict serious injury on your opponent, and we feel that we must have a total ban on boxing."[1]

Impact of boxing on the English language

Numerous metaphors common to everyday speech derive from the sport of boxing. Some of these include:

Metaphor Definition
he was rocked by that one a fighter was hit by a punch with enough force to be dazed
not up to scratch subpar, not able to do the task at hand (in the old days of boxing, boxers started the round by stepping over a scratch made in the ring, but if a boxer could not do this to keep the round going, he/she was said to be "not up to scratch")
saved by the bell rescued from defeat by dint of time running out, an unexpected turn of events, etc.
on (or against) the ropes on the verge of being defeated
throw in the towel to quit, give up
come out swinging to throw oneself into an activity or competition
in one's corner on someone's side, to help or cheer him on
down for the count knocked out, defeated
sucker punch hitting an opponent who is off his guard, unfairly taking advantage of a vulnerability
hitting below the belt a grossly unfair attack (in everyday life, usually of a verbal nature)
punch drunk dazed or incoherent (originally, from being repeatedly struck, can refer to dazes generally)
pull one's punches to hold back, withhold full force or attack
in the arena to be participating, engaged
keep your guard up to remain alert, on the defensive

See also

Resources

References

  1. ^ "Accidents Take Lives of Young Alumni" (July/August 2005). Illinois Alumni, 18(1), 47.
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