Martial Arts
Boxing
Boxing, often called "the manly art of self-defense."
Spartans were the first to box as a way to prepare for sword and shield fighting. The ancient Greeks believed fist fighting was one of the games played by the gods on Olympus; thus it became part of the Olympic Games in the late 7th century BC.
Greek boxers used thongs of soft leather to bind their hands and forearms for protection. Fights ended at a knockout, or at a fighter abandoning the fight, or sometimes at the death of one of the fighters. In competition fighters wrapped their hands in strips of hardened leather which protected the fist and caused unpleasant injuries for the opponent. Later, in Rome, metal-filled leather hand coverings were used resulting in bloody, often duel-to-death Gladitorial battles.
With the fall of the Roman Empire boxing diminishes until reference to matches are once again found in 18th century English records in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as prize-fighting. 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 the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used.
Boxing became a workingman's sport during the Industrial Revolution as prizefights attracted participants and spectators from the working class. The bouts of those eras resembled street fights more than modern boxing: no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee.
The second heavyweight champion, Jack Broughton of England, drew his own set of rules for his own fights, and these were recognized in 1743. They outlawed some of the gorier aspects that the sport had acquired. 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 the use of "mufflers", a form of padded gloves, which were used in training and exhibitions. Instead of a ring of spectators – hence, the name ring – Broughton insisted upon a squared-off area. His rules governed what is known as the "bare-knuckle era."
Although bare-knuckle fighting was in almost every aspect far more brutal than modern boxing, it did allow the fighters a single advantage not enjoyed by today's boxers: drop to one knee to begin a 30-second count at any time. Thus a fighter realizing he was in trouble had an opportunity to recover. Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system.
In 1838, the London Prize Ring rules were expanded in detail and revised in 1853. They stipulated the following:
• Fights occurred in a 24 feet (7.3 m)-square ring surrounded by ropes.
• If a fighter was knocked down, he had to rise within 30 seconds under his own
power to be allowed to continue.
• Biting, headbutting and hitting below the belt were declared fouls.
In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were drafted for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights, Middleweights and Heavyweights. 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. The gloves can be used to block an opponent's blows. As a result of their introduction, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to more modern stance in which the torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face.
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.
Shortly, boxing commissions and other sanctioning bodies were established to regulate the sport and establish universally recognized champions.
The early 1900s saw America dominate the sport. Among the best heavyweights have been Muhammad ALI, Jack DEMPSEY, Jack JOHNSON, Joe LOUIS, Rocky MARCIANO, Gene TUNNEY, Corbett, and Sullivan. Outstanding champions in the lighter weights have included Benny Leonard, Mickey WALKER, Barney Ross, Henry ARMSTRONG, and Sugar Ray ROBINSON.
London produced several world champions including George ‘Digger’ Stanley (World Bantamweight Champion 1910), Bill Ladbury (World Flyweight Champion 1913) and Teddy Baldock (World Bantamweight Champion 1927). In 1956 East London boxer Terry Spinks won the flyweight gold in Melbourne.
1960 was the year Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, had his first professional fight and became the world's most famous boxer and sportsman. The United States held many of the boxing titles during the latter part of the 20th Century but several London fighters did claim world titles.
They included:
• Terry Downes, Middleweight (1961)
• John H. Stracey, Welterweight (1975-76)
• Charlie Magri, Flyweight (1983)
• Lloyd Honeyghan, Welterweight (1986)
• Terry Marsh, Light-Welterweight (1987)
• Duke McKenzie, Fly, Bantam & Super Bantamweight (1988-93)
• Nigel Benn, Middleweight (1990, 1992-96)
• Chris Eubank, Middleweight (1990-91, 1991-95)
• Frank Bruno, Heavyweight (1995-1996)
• Lennox Lewis, Heavyweight (1993-1994, 1997-2001, 2001-2004)
• David Haye, Cruiserweight (2007)
It took until 1993 for Britain to win a World Heavyweight title when London born Lennox Lewis won the WBC Heavyweight Championship where he defeated Tony Tucker in Las Vegas. Lewis was in fact awarded the belt before this fight but this was his first fight as Champion.
Lewis defended his title three times before losing it to Oliver McCall in September 1994. He went on to beat Mike Tyson and is regarded as one of the best heavyweight boxers of his time.
Other British champions during the 20th Century were Frank Bruno (WBC champion, 1995-1996) who won the title from Oliver McCall in 1995 to fulfil his dream of becoming world champion, Henry Akinwande (WBO champion, 1996-1997) and Herbie Hide (WBO champion, 1994-1995, 1997-1999).
In 2000 the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) introduced new safety measures including a requirement to have an anaesthetist and two teams of paramedics at the ringside. The safety measures followed the Michael Watson and Chris Eubank fight in 1991 where the fight nearly cost Watson his life.
Asia and Latin America have produced many champions in recent years in some of the lower weight classes, which are less popular in the United States. The Communist bloc has done exceedingly well in Olympic competition.
Sources & Useful Links:
The Amateur Boxing Association of England