Boxing is a combat sport and martial art in which two people fight using their fists. Boxing is typically supervised by a referee engaged in during a series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds and the boxers generally of similar weight,. There are three ways to win; if the opponent is knocked out and unable to get up before the referee counts to ten seconds (a Knockout, or KO) or if the opponent is deemed too injured to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO). If there is no stoppage of the fight before an agreed number of rounds, a winner is determined either by the referee's decision or by judges' scorecards.
Modern boxing.
Records of Classical boxing activity disappeared after the fall of the Roman Empire. However, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called Fistfight. The sport would later resurface in England during the early 18th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing sometimes referred to as 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. It should be noted, that this earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mr. Figg's time, in addition to fistfighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling.
Early fighting had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee. In general, it was extremely chaotic. The first boxing rules, called the Broughton's 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 and encouraged the use of "mufflers", a form of padded gloves, which were used in training and exhibitions. The first paper on boxing was published in the late 18th century by successful Birmingham boxer 'William Futrell' who remained undefeated until his one hour and seventeen minute fight at Smitham Bottom, Croydon, on July 9, 1788 against a much younger "Gentleman" John Jackson which was attended by the Prince of Wales.
These rules did allow the fighters an advantage not enjoyed by today's boxers: They permitted the fighter to 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. However, this was considered "unmanly" and was frequently disallowed by additional rules negotiated by the Seconds of the Boxers. Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system. Furthermore, as the contestants did not have heavy leather gloves and wristwraps to protect their hands, a certain amount of restraint was required when striking the head.
Amateur boxing:
Amateur boxing may be found at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sanctioned by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing has a point scoring system that measures the number of clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Bouts consist of three rounds of three minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and three rounds of two minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds.Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with 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 cleanly on the head or torso with sufficient force 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 (below the belt) 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. Referees will stop the bout if a boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced. Amateur bouts which end this way may be noted as "RSC" (referee stopped contest) with notations for an outclassed opponent (RSCO), outscored opponent (RSCOS), injury (RSCI) or head injury (RSCH).
Professional boxing:
Professional bouts are usually much longer than amateur bouts, typically ranging from ten to twelve rounds, though four round fights are common for less experienced fighters or club fighters. There are also some two-and three-round professional bouts, especially in Australia. Through the early twentieth century, it was common for fights to have unlimited rounds, ending only when one fighter quit, benefiting high-energy fighters like Jack Dempsey. Fifteen rounds remained the internationally recognized limit for championship fights for most of the twentieth century until the early 1980s, when the death of boxer Duk Koo Kim reduced the limit to twelve.
Headgear is not permitted in professional bouts, 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 cannot defend himself due to injury. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win. 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. For this reason, fighters often employ cutmen, whose job is to treat cuts between rounds so that the boxer is able to continue despite 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. In contrast with amateur boxing, professional male boxers have to be bare chested.
Clothing:
All boxers, regardless of their weight class, have certain kinds of clothing that are essential for bouts. Professional boxers wear different clothes from amateur ones but there is a basic idea or sense in them. All boxers in sanctioned fights are required to have handwraps, gloves, groin protectors, mouth guards and soft soled shoes.
Shorts
In amateur boxing, each boxer wears shorts approved by the sanctioning body in the color of their corner. In professional boxing, the color and design of the shorts is left up to each fighter and is not regulated. Many boxers have their name or nickname embroidered on the waistband of the shorts, along with sponsor logos and even the sanctioning bodies which have awarded them belts. Many boxers, such as Prince Naseem Hamed, have very elaborate shorts, while others such as Mike Tyson prefer plain ones. Shorts in the modern era are much looser fitting than those of previous generations for improved movement, comfort and style.
Tank tops
Amateur boxers wear tank top shirts, as do female professional boxers. Some female boxers choose to wear sports bras rather than tank tops. Upper body cover varies from boxer to boxer due to preference. Professional male boxers always compete without upper body clothing on.
Protective equipment
Amateur boxers are required to have headgear and a sleeveless shirt in the color of their corner, while professionals fight bare-chested and without headgear. Female boxers in amateur ranks are allowed a short sleeved shirt, where as professionals wear a sleeveless shirt. All female boxers are allowed a chest protector. All boxers are required a mouthpiece, the construction of which is up to the sanctioning body and the fighters. All boxers in sanctioned bouts are required to have a foul protector, which protects the groin and lower abdomen. Female foul protectors have less padding in the groin, but are still required in sanctioned bouts. All boxers also wear gloves, ranging in weight from 8-16oz in amateur bouts and 6-12oz in professional bouts. Amateurs are bound by an approved glove, whereas professional boxers have only a minimum weight of glove, the exact weight and even brand can be determined in the negotiations prior to the fight. Gloves are subject to inspection both by the representatives of the sanctioning body and the opposing fighter's corner prior to a fight. They are then taped on the laces to prevent them from coming loose, and are usually signed by the representative of the sanctioning body to assure no tampering has taken place. Boxers are also required to have handwraps. USA Boxing allows re-usable cotton handwraps with a hook and loop closure, whereas most professional fights require adhesive, one time use wraps. Wraps are also subject to inspection, a notable example being the fight between Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito, where a plaster like substance was found in the wraps of Margarito, resulting in his suspension for "at least a year."
All boxers are required to have soft soled shoes, which minimizes the damage from accidental or intentional stepping on feet. The construction of the shoe is up to the fighter, with many inside fighters preferring textured rubber soles for increased traction, and many outside fighters preferring smooth soles for decreased friction and easier movement.
Equipment:
Since boxing involves forceful, repetitive punching, precautions must be taken to prevent damage to bones in the hand. Most trainers do not allow boxers to train and spar without hand/wrist wraps and boxing gloves. Hand wraps 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. Gloves have been required in competition since the late nineteenth century, though modern boxing gloves are much heavier than those worn by early twentieth-century fighters. Prior to a bout, both boxers agree upon the weight of gloves to be used in the bout, with the understanding that lighter gloves allow heavy punchers to inflict more damage. The brand of gloves can also affect the impact of punches, so this too is usually stipulated before a bout. A mouth guard is important to protect the teeth and gums from injury, and to cushion the jaw, resulting in a decreased chance of knockout.
Boxers practice their skills on two basic types of punching bags. A small, tear-drop-shaped "speed bag" is used to hone reflexes and repetitive punching skills, while a large cylindrical "heavy bag" filled with sand, a synthetic substitute, or water is used to practice power punching and body blows. In addition to these distinctive pieces of equipment, boxers also utilize more general use training equipment to build strength, speed, and agility. Common training equipment includes free weights, rowing machines, jump rope, and medicine balls.
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