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Table of Contents
Boxing is a sport for amateurs and professionals that involves attack and defense with the fists.
See the fact file below for more information on the boxing or alternatively, you can download our 27-page Boxing worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
THE BEGINNINGS OF BOXING
- Boxing is one of the oldest known sports with hieroglyphic scriptures on the walls of tombs in Egyptian Thebes (c. 1350 BCE).
- Relief carvings also show that Sumerians boxed from the 3rd millennium BCE.
- In ancient Greece, two men would face with their fists tightly wrapped in strips of tough leather. They would hit each other until one of them fell to the ground unconscious or dead.
- In Greece’s 23rd Olympiad in 688 BCE, boxing was introduced. The fighters fought for glory and the winners were granted the gold, livestock or other trophies.
- In Roman version, the boxers’ leather straps called caestus (cestus), were plated with special copper and iron brackets so boxing usually ended with the death of one of the fighters.
- Because of its brutality, boxing was abolished around 393 AD because it was deemed too savage.
RETURN OF BOXING
- Boxing resurfaced again in the early 16th Century London. Wealthy patrons of the sport supported their pugilists (fist fighters, then later on called ‘prizefighters’) and put large wagers down on their fights.
- The first official bare-knuckle boxing was registered in England in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury. Then from 1698 onwards, regularly scheduled boxing matches were conducted in the Royal Theater in London.
- The first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719, a distinction he held for about 15 years.
- His pupil, Jack Broughton a.k.a. the Father of Boxing, soon wrote the first Code of Rules in 1743. They were used until 1838, when they were replaced by ‘London Prize Ring Rules.’
- Under Broughton’s rules, a round continued until a man went down. If the opponent could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over.
- Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below the waist were also prohibited.
- It was during his time that the precursor of modern gloves was introduced. ‘Mufflers’, a form of padded bandage or mitten, were introduced to be used in ‘jousting’ or sparring sessions in training, and in exhibition matches.
- On actual fights however, contestants did not have heavy leather gloves and wrist wraps to protect their hands so they used different punching technique to preserve their hands.
- The London Prize Ring Rules then prohibited certain acts such as outlawing butting, gouging, scratching, kicking, hitting a man while down, holding the ropes, and using resin, stones or hard objects in the hands, and biting. It also provided a standard ring of 24 feet (7.32 metres) square bounded by two ropes.
- Widely accepted in UK and US, the rules were implemented in a championship fight in 1839 between James (“Deaf”) Burke and William Thompson (“Bendigo”).
QUEENSBERRY CODE
- To further standardize the boxing sport, the Queensberry Code of Rules provided further guidelines:
- Opponents had to wear padded gloves of the best quality;
- The round lasted for three minutes of fighting, with a minute break;
- Any other kind of fighting except for using hands was forbidden, so is wrestling or hugging;
- Downed boxers had to stand up within 10 seconds, otherwise he was claimed to be beaten and the fight proclaimed ended.
- As a result, matches became longer and more strategic, giving importance to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling.
AMATEUR and PROFESSIONAL BOXING RULES
- Amateur Boxing
- Amateur boxers belong to the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, etc and international games are controlled by the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA).
- There are 3 to 5 rounds of boxing and time duration of each round is 3 minutes with one minute of rest.
- It is mandatory for an amateur boxer to wear headgear in amateur boxing.
- Professional Boxing
- Professional Boxing was first promoted by George (“Tex”) Rickard. He introduced the art of publicizing boxing beginning in 1906.
- International professional boxing organizations are currently the World Boxing Council (WBC), the World Boxing Association (WBA), and the International Boxing Federation (IBF)
- In professional boxing there are 4 to 12 rounds of boxing where each round is 3 minutes with 1 minute of rest in between.
- Both boxers are required to wear hand wraps inside the gloves, a mouthpiece to protect the jaw, an athletic cup to protect the groin area below the belt, and proper boxing trunks and shoes. However, the main difference is that professional boxers don’t have to wear head gears.
- A bout ends when: (a) there is technical knockout, (b) knockout, or (c) the rounds ended and scoring officials decided the winner.
- The referee also may rule “fouls” when boxers violate rules and may issue warnings, deduct points, or disqualify, causing an automatic loss, depending on the seriousness and intentionality of the foul
BOXING TECHNIQUES
- The basic stance for boxers may be: Upright stance, Semi-crouch and Full crouch, depending on his position during the match (on the offensive or defensive).
- In boxing, there are four basic punches that can be expanded and combined by boxers: the jab, cross, hook and uppercut.
- To defend from the punches, the boxer may slip, sway or fade, duck or break, bob and weave, Parry/block or cover-up.
- Applying these techniques, all boxers are at risk to certain injuries such as concussions resulting to brain damage, internal bleeding, facial and bone fractures. This is why physicians stay close to the ring and each boxer has their own medical staff.
- But with fame and wealth on the line, boxers are ready to take the risks and perfect their techniques to win and while minimizing injuries.
Boxing Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the boxing across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Boxing worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the boxing which is a sport for amateurs and professionals that involves attack and defense with the fists.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Boxing Facts
- The Art of Boxing
- The Boxing Ring
- Boxing Legends
- Women and Boxing
- The Boxer
- Boxing Styles
- Boxing Punches
- Weight Divisions
- The Boxing Club
- Fight of the Century
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Link will appear as Boxing Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, June 6, 2021
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.