Boxing - Then and Now

By: Fred Tresdale


Boxing is one of most popular sports today in North America and continues to grow in popularity. Most countries of the world are familiar with boxing, with many of these countries having a multitude of boxing organizations within its borders.

Boxing has along lineage historians have traced it as far back as 4000 BC to the empires of Rome and Greece. Boxing known by other name back then, seems to have been a much rougher and brutal game than now.

Evidence shows that these ancient civilizations encouraged the boxing participants to fight each other using fists and metal spikes. It is believed that these battles often continued until one of the competitors was declared dead. These days boxing is much safer, with strict regulations in place to protect the boxer.

Both amateur and professional boxing requires the use of gloves, without the spikes, as well as a computer generated score that determines the final outcome of the match. Head gear specifically designed for the sport of boxing is also a safety requirement. Boxing, however, remains one of the bare bones hand-to-hand combats that still exist today.

Most boxing matches place together competitors that are within the same level of experience and strength. Boxers are trained in the skilled of combat and this makes a boxing match both fun and exciting to watch as two people battle it out to win the honor of taking home the trophy.

Boxing wasn't a popular sport in North America until the mid 1800's. Once America got a taste of this exciting sport, however, it caught on like wild fire. Today, during International competitions, it's the Americans that lead the way with consistent wins and knockouts.

Not only men are adept at the sport of boxing, women have stepped center ring and have become as experienced as the men. Women have yet to find a place in the Olympics, but this can't be far behind.

Boxing has seen many boxers who have emerged from the ranks of amateurs and gone onto become great names such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, Floyd Patterson, and Oscar De La Hoya.

There are some differences between amateur and professional boxing matches. The pros fight for anywhere from four to fifteen rounds, with the average being twelve. Amateur matches consist of three rounds.

Boxing winners are announced by the judges who make the final decision as to how many points each competitor has. A knockout, however, will be an automatic win for the boxer who throws the final punch, providing that his opponent is unable to get off the mat after ten seconds.

In the fast paced modern life more and more people are turning towards boxing. People from all ages are becoming its students not only to fight but also to remain fit and healthy and deal with the stress and worries of life.

Men more than women are armchair boxers and continue to make the sport a popular one to watch.

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Information about the Author:

============================================================ Fred Tresdale is the owner of FT Boxing, a fantastic resource for information about boxing. For more articles on boxing why not visit: www.ftboxing.com/articles ============================================================
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