History & origins
The story of Boxing
Fist fighting is among the oldest recorded competitions, appearing in Sumerian carvings and the ancient Olympics. Modern boxing emerged from bare-knuckle prizefighting in Georgian England, and became a regulated sport only when the Queensberry rules introduced gloves, timed rounds and the ten-count.
Milestones
11 moments that shaped the modern game.
- 688 BCE
Boxing at the ancient Olympics
Fighters wrapped their hands in leather straps and fought without rounds or weight classes until one man conceded or could not continue.
- 1743
Broughton's rules
Jack Broughton wrote the first safety rules after killing an opponent in the ring, banning hitting a downed man and introducing a thirty-second recovery count.
- 1867
The Queensberry rules
Twelve rules published under the Marquess of Queensberry's patronage mandated gloves, three-minute rounds and the ten-second count. Modern boxing begins here.
- 1892
The first gloved heavyweight title
James Corbett beat John L. Sullivan under Queensberry rules, ending the bare-knuckle era at the sport's highest level.
- 1908
Jack Johnson wins the title
The first Black heavyweight champion faced a campaign to find a 'great white hope' to beat him, and the resulting hostility shaped American boxing for decades.
- 1937
Joe Louis and the long reign
Louis held the heavyweight title for almost twelve years and made twenty-five defences, both still records for the division.
- 1964
Cassius Clay beats Sonny Liston
A 7–1 underdog took the heavyweight title and announced his name as Muhammad Ali the following day, beginning the most publicly consequential career in the sport.
- 1974
The Rumble in the Jungle
Ali regained the title from George Foreman in Kinshasa by absorbing punishment on the ropes until Foreman exhausted himself — the rope-a-dope.
- 1980s
The four kings
Leonard, Hearns, Durán and Hagler fought each other repeatedly across the middleweight divisions in a series of bouts still used as the standard for competitive quality.
- 2012
Women's Olympic boxing
Women's boxing was finally added to the Olympic programme in London, over a century after the men's event, and Nicola Adams won the first gold.
- 2010s
The women's professional boom
Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields and others moved women's boxing onto headline cards and pay-per-view, and undisputed titles became a realistic goal in the women's divisions before the men's.