Where Did Boxing Come From?

Competitions involving combat and fist-fighting have been around for literally thousands of years. It
was part of the very first Olympiad in ancient Greece and there is evidence to show it goes back even further. But it was a lot different than what we know of the sport nowadays. There was very little structure other than whoever was left standing was also the winner. As such, it was very violent and bloody. 

With the rise of the Roman empire, gladiatorial combat with weapons and armor became more popular and of course even more violent, as the losing combatant generally died. But as Christianity began to rise and said Roman Empire faded, these kind of competitions were considered barbaric, eventually ceasing to exist on any mainstream level.

Bare-knuckle fighting, known first as pugilism, would surface again in Britain during the late 1600s. Contests would go down in relatively large venues, like the Royal Theater of London, and it became a popular sport to bet on. There were still no real rules though. No weight classes either. You could also wrestle, take your opponent down, and even hit them while they were down. The fights went on as long as they had to.

Despite its popularity, boxing was still technically illegal. One of the first champions to gain support was James "the Newton" Figg (probably not really his nickname). This was around the time that the term, "boxing” started to get associated with the sport but yet again, still no general set of rules, other than just ones made for specific fights. No referees either so there was plenty of headbutts, eye gouges (no gloves either), and God knows what else. It's funny to think about but it was really MMA long before MMA.One of Figg's training partners/proteges was Jack "Muscles" Broughton (also not his real nickname) who became champion and was apparently undefeated for 24 years. But more importantly, he was the first to codify any kind of official rules for general boxing contests. Known as "The Broughton Rules," they consisted of seven things that would eventually become adopted as The London Prize Ring Rules in 1743.

These rules established judges and knockdown rules, where a fighter would not be allowed to hit a downed opponent, as he was given a certain amount of time to stand up and continue the fight. Also outlawed were grabbing of the legs but you could still wrestle and throw kicks. Broughton was also one of the first boxers to wear something akin to a glove, then called "mufflers" to protect hands. Gloves did not achieve widespread popularity until about another 150 years though, as they actually made the sport more violent because combatants were able to punch up high since they didn't have to worry quite as much about breaking their hands, whereas bareknuckle fighters tend to go to the body more. NOTE: I would bet that American professional football might actually be safer too if players did not wear padding and helmets, for this same reason.

It wasn’t until 1867 that a Welch journalist and sportsman called John Graham Chambers would establish the Marquess of Queensberry Rules. They were called this because it was under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry that Chambers was able to publish those rules. This is when modern boxing would finally take shape and these rules are still used to this day.  Now boxers had to fight in a ring, there was no wrestling allowed whatsoever, the now-standard 3-minute round was introduced with 1 minute breaks in between, as was the notion of the 10-second count and standing 8 counts with boxers returning to their corners. The referee now had full control of the fight and it essentially made boxing into a real sport, as opposed to just a barroom brawl, where skill and tactics became more important.

It is unclear how the basic punches were developed but I would guess they predate the London bareknuckle scene of the 1700s. The old-timey boxing stance that people associate with Ireland - mainly because of the Notre Dame Leprechaun - actually did originate in England but it is also unknown if any specific person could have been credited with inventing it.

James "Jem" Mace (that actually was his nickname) was the first heavyweight champion under the new rules and his popularity helped to cement them into boxing culture. Mace, and the sport's popularity, would make it's way to America, particularly through English and Irish immigration. America would eventually start to dominate the sport and international fights started to take place. From there, boxing would spread throughout the world and at one time could even be considered one of the most popular global sports.

So, while you could say that boxing's roots trace back at least as long as we have cave drawings, it is safe to say that what we know as boxing today came directly from jolly, old England and will hopefully continue to flourish. While both amateur and competitive boxing are not as popular as they used to be (see my earlier blog post on that - https://theboxingmanifesto.blogspot.com/2023/02/what-is-wrong-with-professional-boxing.html), it is heartening to see that now more people probably have done some form of boxing training than ever before. So who knows, maybe the best era is still to come?