The Early History Of Boxing (part 1 of 2)

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The ancient Egyptian civilization holds the very first records of bare hand-to-hand combats. Further records were found among the archives and art works of the Greek and Roman civilizations and these evidently suggest that boxing was already a public favorite. This is because during these civilizations, boxing has already become an organized and highly favored public spectacle.

However, only during the 18th century did England popularized boxing as a sport and not a brutal and bloody spectacle comparable with those fights seen in the gladiator arenas.  But even in 18th century England, boxing was seen more of a bloody fight than a game. Nonetheless, this was the time when the first boxing champions were formally recognized and actually held titles in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The so-called boxing pioneers then fought with bare knuckles. While these pioneers had already passed out of history, they laid the substance of boxing as a sport as we know it today.

The Bare Knuckles Era is essentially the period when formal boxing fights were introduced. During these times, boxers fought without restriction and they fought only in an arbitrary ring created by the circling of the spectators themselves. Referees and gloves were just about to be introduced so during this period, fighters fought for as long as they can endure. Fight then could sometimes last for hours for there were no time limits yet and they could continue through the next day depending on the arrangements between the boxers.

Also, rules were not yet present so the game was basically governed by the fighter's sense of sportsmanship. Naturally, there were no violations for hitting below the belt or for using a small cudgel. Blood was of course present and injuries were common. The main objective of the game, however, is somewhat the same with the current objective- defeat the opponent.