Boxing is one of the oldest sports around and one of the most popular combat sports. It has been one of the favourite events for betting enthusiasts for hundreds of years becuase of it’s unpredictability of the final result, at least most of the times, and was always easy to find bettors that would take either side of a betting line.
Early Origins
Boxing existed for thousands of years and it was originally played by people who were trying to prove themselves worthy of being warriors. The earliest appearance of boxing in history comes from Sumerian artifacts found in Iraq, originating from the 3rd millennium BCE. Similar relics were also discovered originating from the Mesopotamian nations of Assyria and Babylonia. These etchings showed two men punching each other with wrapped fists for the first time in sport.
It was further developed and grew in popularity in Ancient Greece during the 6th century BC. It was an Olympic event since the first edition of the Olympic Games believed to have taken place in 776 BC. Boxers wrapped straps (himantes) around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent’s face as there was no protection for the face or head.
Unlike modern boxing, the Greeks did not enclose the competitors in a ring to encourage fighting in close quarters. In addition, boxing in Ancient Greece was not divided into individual rounds so athletes fought until the end, usually by surrender or mutual exhaustion. Participants competed with each other though random drawings with no division into weight classes
The precise rules of boxing in antiquity cannot be known for certain, and are thus inferred from historical references and images. It is believed that any type of blow with the hand was permitted, though using the hands to gouge at the eyeballs was not. Holding or wrestling one’s opponent was also prohibited. If the fight lasted too long due to the tenacity of the competitors, the athletes could choose to exchange blows undefended to speed up the process.
Modern boxing
The first resurgence of modern organized fist fighting and boxing sports events can be traced to England. The earliest record of the English “knuckle boxing” or “prizefighting” can be traced to 1681, and the sport gained wide popularity during the reign of the first English bare-knuckle champion James Figg between 1719 and 1730. The boxing matches of that time included not only fistfights but also cudgelling and fencing.
Early English boxing had no rules, round limits, weight divisions or referees . The spectators and fighters, therefore, enjoyed the chaotic environment in which fights were viewed as being “pure”. Extreme moves like headbutting, chokes, hard throws, and eye-gouging were permissible.
1867 saw the release of the first officially sanctioned rules devised by John Chambers, published by Marquess of Queensberry, and devised for the amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London that gather Lightweights, Middleweights, and Heavyweights.
The rules that were introduced in 1867 are very similar to current rule and included the specifications for 24-foot-square or similar-sized ring, 3 minute rounds with one minute of rest between them, 10-second count for the fighter who was knocked down and the referee had to ensure usage of proper gloves.
As the popularity of box started to grow in the United States, many young fighters (who were at that time mostly immigrants or poor) saw boxing as one of the easiest ways to achieve wealth and glory. By 1915, Irish immigrants in the United States become a dominating group of the US boxing scene, with leading names being Terry McGovern, “Philadelphia” Jack O’Brien, Mike “ Twin” Sullivan and many others. During that time, fighters of many other nationalities rose to fame, including first appearances of talented black American fighters who became fully integrated into sport only after the Great Depression of 1929. Joe Louis became the first black heavyweight World Champion boxer in 1937.
After the third quarter of 20th century, USA boxing scene became dominated by the black boxers, such as “Sugar” Ray Leonard, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, Mike Tyson and others.
Boxing remains one of the most exciting sports to bet on. Make sure you check some of the sportsbooks we recommend on our website and their boxing betting lines.