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After each round, boxers are awarded points on the basis of punches landed, technique used, and adherence to the rules. Only punches above the belt are allowed, excluding the back, the nape of the neck and the back of the head.
Scoring punches must be delivered with the outside of the glove (metacarpus area of the fist). Unless a match ends before the defined number of rounds, the winner is determined on total points allocated by the judges: Called winning by a decision.
A fight can also be won before the end by a knockout (when a fighter is knocked down and cannot get back upright within 10 seconds), by the referee stopping the fight to prevent further injury, by an opponent conceding the fight or by disqualification.
There are three basic offensive punches in boxing. These can be straight punches with the arm horizontally extended (including shorter straight jabs delivered with the leading hand), hooks which are delivered from the shoulder with the elbow bent, and uppercuts which are swinging upward blows delivered under the opponent’s guard.
The three basic defensive moves to counter offensive punches are weaving, parrying and blocking, which are usually intended to be the start of mounting a counterattack.
Before every fight, fighters must weigh in and undergo a medical examination. A fight doctor, a boxing federation representative and between three and five scoring judges are always present at matches.
The ring area is surrounded by three or four rows of rope attached to corner posts.
The referee is in the ring with the contestants and ensures that fight rules and his instructions are followed. The timekeeper rings a bell to mark the beginning and end of each round.
Four different international organisations hold professional world championship fights and each may have a different champion or belt holder at each weight. These are the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
There are eighteen weight divisions, only varying slightly between professional and amateur (from strawweight to heavyweight in professional and junior flyweight to super heavyweight in amateur).
Equipment
In both professional and amateur (or Olympic) boxing, contestants wear trunks, gloves over their bandaged hands, mouthpieces, abdominal protectors, and light shoes with no reinforced heels or toes. Bandages, mouthpiece and abdomen guards all provide a level of protection during the fight. Bandages specifically protect the bones from cracks or fractures and provide support to the wrist.
Gloves are supplied by fight organisers - ranging in weight from 227 grams to 283 grams according to weight classification in professional boxing, but always 283 grams at amateur level.
To develop a boxers’ power, heavybags covered in leather or canvas and weighing about 30 pounds are used in training. Similarly, leather speedbags are used to improve speed and coordination.
Amateur boxers wear a protective helmet and a blue or red sleeveless vest.
Although the equipment used in professional and amateur boxing is very similar, the rules for organising contests are very different in that the professional sport is basically money-driven. Some matches are auctioned off by promoters with the right to hold the fight going to the highest bidder.
History
Pugilism, an early form of boxing, first appeared as an Olympic sport in 668 B.C. - which was the 23rd time the Olympic Games had been held. The pugilists, who were the forefathers of our modern boxers, limited their movements to throwing and blocking punches.
To prevent fractures, their hands were firmly wrapped with a leather thong, two centimetres wide and two metres long, known as a cestus. Later it became common to reinforce the cestus with lead balls or studs, and fights became increasingly fierce and violent.
Boxing first appeared in England in the 18th century, and beginning in 1857 was governed by a set of rules formulated by the Marquis of Queensbury which still form the basis of English boxing as we know it.
In North America, boxing gained official recognition in 1888, and became an Olympic sport at the St. Louis Games in 1904. In 1994, women’s boxing which had previously been prohibited, was recognised by the International Amateur Boxing Association (IABA); an organisation founded in 1946 and made up of over 180 national federations. Since the early 1990s, women’s boxing - amateur and professional - has enjoyed a steadily growing popularity. |