Boxing most likely was invented in various cultures independently and had their origins in prehistorical periods. [16] Archaeological evidence suggests boxing existed in Africa as early as 4000 BC [ citation needed ] with the earliest visual evidence for boxing appearing in Sumerian relief carvings from the 3rd millennium BC. The earliest evidence for it in the Mediterranean was around 1500 BC. [17]

A mythical Greek ruler named Theseus , said to have lived around the 9th century BC, allegedly invented a form of boxing in which two men sat face to face and beat each other with their fists until one of them was killed. In time, the boxers began to fight while standing and wearing gloves (with spikes) and wrappings on their arms below the elbows, although otherwise they competed naked.

First accepted as an Olympic sport (the ancient Greeks called it Pygme/ Pygmachia) in 688 BC, participants trained on punching bags (called a korykos). Fighters wore leather straps (called himantes) over their hands, wrists, and sometimes breast, to protect them from injury. The straps left their fingers free.

In China in the Zhou Dynasty 12th Century B.C. , Jiao li, a form of wrestling that included boxing, was recorded in the Classic of Rites . [1] This combat system included techniques such as strikes , throws , joint manipulation , and pressure point attacks. [2] .

Forms of boxing are mentioned in early Buddhist sources. In the Lotus Sutra (Chapter 14), Gautama Buddha (563-483 BC) refers to boxing while speaking to Manjusri . Another early Buddhist sutra Hongyo-kyo describes a boxing contest between Gautama Buddha's half-brother Prince Nanda and his cousin Devadatta . [3] The boxing martial art of Vajra Mushti was described in the Buddharata Sutra , written in the 5th century, [4] though it was used by the Hindu Kshatriya caste centuries earlier. [3]

In ancient Rome , fighters were usually criminals and slaves who hoped to become champions and gain their freedom; however, free men also fought. Eventually, fist fighting became so popular that even aristocrats started fighting, but the practice was eventually banned by the caesar Augustus . In 500 A.D., the sport was banned altogether by christian Theodoric the Great . [5]

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. 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 . [6] This is also the time when the word "boxing" first came to be used.

Early fighting had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee. Modern rules banning kicking , gouging , grappling , biting , headbutting , fish-hooking and blows below the belt were absent.

The first boxing rules, called the London Prize Ring rules , were introduced by heavyweight champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred. [7] 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.

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: The London Prize Rules 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. 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. Later revised in 1853 , they stipulated the following: [8]

• Fights occurred in a 24-foot-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 by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for Lightweights , Middleweights and Heavyweights . The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry , whose name has always been associated with them.

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. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. Gloves protected the hands of both fighters but their considerable size and weight made knock-out victories more difficult to achieve. [9] As a result, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling.

The English case of R v. Coney in 1882 found that a bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm , despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespread public bare-knuckle contests in England.

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 . [10]

With the gradual acceptance of formalised rules, two distinct branches of boxing emerged; Professional and Olympic. The boxing rules enforced by governing bodies worldwide today at the local, national and international level are all derived in some way from the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.