THE EARLY YEARS
Boxing is nearly as old as human civilization, the earliest record of a prizefight can be found in Iliad, written in 1100 BC. However many of the Egyptian artefacts from 3000 BC, suggests that Boxing existed in Ethiopia as early as 6000 BC. The earlier form of boxing was totally separate from wrestling. There were no rings and no proper rules, the fighters were only supposed to fight with honor. To end a fight the fighter had to surrender or knock out the sense out of his opponent. Later on, in 688 BC Boxing as a sport emerged in Olympics, with no proper rules and weight class. Since there was no weight class the fighter with larger and stronger body would be the champion.
THE 18TH CENTURY
During 18th century Boxing found a foothold in society, and emerged as a popular sport with a few rules. These matches were close to those of practiced in Rome and Greece.
John Broughton was one of the most renowned boxers of his time, known as ‘The Father of Boxing’. Broughton was the first one to set official rules for the sports at those times. According to those rules the fighters were encouraged to wear gloves during practice fights, however bareknuckle fights were still popular among people during that period.
LONDON PRIZE RING RULES
In 1838 a set of rules were adopted for bareknuckle boxing bouts, under these rules the matches were held inside a 24feet square ring enclosed with a rope. The fighters were allowed a 30 seconds rest and an extra 8 seconds for getting back to the center of the ring. Later on the rules were modified in 1853, and under the new rules head butting, gouging and low blows were banned.
MARQUIS OF QUEENSBERRY RULES
The implementation of Queensberry rules greatly influenced the modern boxing. The rules set by John Graham Chambers, were first published in 1867. These rules not only defined the size and shape of the boxing rings, it also set the time duration for each round in a bout. The length for each round and a set rest time in between the rounds were fixed. Under these new rules boxing raised as a gloved sport.
THE MODERN TIMES AMATEUR BOXING
Boxing made its way into the modern Olympics first time in 1904. Later on in 1946, the International Amateur Boxing Association was created as an international body for amateur boxing. The association held its own championship and had twelve clubs.
The modern amateur boxing bouts grew to be less violent as different rules were introduced to ensure the fighters’ safety. The fighters have to wear headgears to protect themselves, while points are awarded for landing hits to their opponents instead of knocking them out. The new regulations have made today’s amateur boxing less aggressive and less violent sport.
