boxing

Boxing was practiced as a cult in honor of the gods in ancient times, especially in the Near East, Asia and Africa. It developed in the Mediterranean region as a ruled sport in which one fought to the point of incapacitating the opponent with bare fists or with bandaged fists. Modern boxing originated in England in the 18th century.

Boxing is a martial art in which 2 people in the same weight class fight each other using only their fists under set rules. Boxing is done with leather-padded gloves and punches are permitted to any part of the front of the body above the waistline (including the head).

A boxing match takes place in a boxing ring, which is square and has an edge length of between 488 and 732 cm. The fighting area is spanned by 3 or 4 ropes. A boxing match is directed by a referee and scored by judges. For amateurs, a boxing match consists of 4 rounds of 2 minutes each, with a one-minute break in between. In professional boxing, the number of rounds (each 3 minutes) can be freely determined, but usually ranges between 4 and 12 rounds. After each round, 3 judges independently evaluate which boxer fought the best in the round. It is also possible that only the referee judges the fight. If the fight goes over the full number of rounds, the winner is determined by adding up the round ratings and the auxiliary points. Point deductions are possible as a result of precipitation and warnings.

World umbrella organization of amateur boxers is the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur European umbrella organization is the European Amateur Boxing Association. There is no central organization in professional boxing. Instead, there are many federations that are somewhat misleadingly called "world boxing federations", which, however, are more profit-oriented.

Boxing was first included in the modern Olympic program in 1904 in St. Louis, in 1908 only 42 boxers from 4 countries competed. In 1912 there was no Olympic boxing tournament because boxing was banned in Sweden at the time. From 1920 to 1948 there were 8 weight classes, from 1952 to 1964 in 10 weight classes and from 1968 to 1984 in 11 weight classes. Since 1936, the technically best boxer at the Olympic Games has been awarded the Val Barker Cup.