Who Invented Boxing?

Boxing is a martial art and combat sport which consists of two people who fight with their fists. Boxing is usually supervised by a referee and is separated into rounds, each rounds lasting from 1 to 3 minutes. There are only three ways in which a person can win a boxing match. One way would be to knock out their opponent. Also known as KO, knock outs are awarded once an opponent has been knocked to the ground and is unable to stand and continue the fight after a count to 10 seconds. Another way would be a TKO which stands for a technical knock out. This occurs when an opponent is deemed too injured to continue the match. The last way in which an opponent can win a boxing match is through a decision. At the end of all rounds judges or referee can award a winner based on several scores.

History


Boxing was first recorded in the 3rd millennium BC in which Sumerian reliefs depicted a fist fight with an onlooking crowd. Another similar relief was found in the 2nd millennium BC in ancient Egypt. In 1927 an archaeologist by the name of a Dr. E. A Speiser discovered a stone tablet from the Mesopotamian culture in which two men were depicted getting ready for a prize fight. The tablet is said to be more than 7,000 years old.

Fist fighting with gloves was first seen between 1500 to 900 BC where a Minoan Crete was found which depicted two gloved men fighting. Homer’s lliad in 675 BC was one of the first detailed accounts of a boxing fight. The lliad states that Mycenaean warriors participated in boxing matches as a way to honor their fallen comrades. It is was essentially, a part of a ceremony to honor the dead. There is also another legend which state that Theseus, who existed in the 9th century BC invented a practise similar to boxing in which two men sat facing each other and would beat each other with their fists until one was killed.

In 688 BC boxing was accepted as a sport in the Olympics and was called Pygme or Pygmachia. Fighters would practise ad train using punching bags and wore leather straps on their hands and wrists leaving their finger exposed. Sometimes, leather straps were bound across their chest for added safety.

Ancient Rome also was recorded as practising a form of boxing. There were two main forms, one which remained and has become popular today and one which was gladiatorial. Boxers or fighters were normally slaves and criminals who fought for their freedom. Gladiators would wear heavy leather straps over their hands and knuckles as well as forearms to protect them from harm. Fist fighting eventually became very popular and even free men, women and aristocrats indulged in the barbaric sport.

Who Invented Boxing


According to legend, Apollo invented boxing. But is is safe to say that the true inventor of boxing has been yet to be found as boxing in its many forms existed as early as 2nd millennium. Boxing nowadays is a popular sport with a huge fan base. Many men and women train for months to be able to enter the ring and exit the victor.