Boxing (Olympic sport since 1904)

   About

   Boxing ranks among the Olympic Games' most illustrious sports.

   When it first arrived in the Ancient Olympic Games, the tools of the trade were long strips of leather wrapped around boxers' fists. The fight continued until one man or the other went down or conceded. The Romans followed with a gladiator dimension. They used gloves studded with spikes or weighted with lead, and fights often ended in death, like other entertainment of the day.

   When the modern Games resumed in 1896, the Athens organising committee omitted boxing, deciding it was too dangerous. The sport reappeared in 1904 in St. Louis, thanks to its popularity in the United States, then disappeared again in 1912 at Stockholm because Sweden's national law banned it.

   Only in 1920 did boxing return to the Olympic Games to stay. Hence, Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay at the time) and Teofilo Stevenson (a three-time gold medallist) could join names like Theagenes of Thassos and Cleitomachus of Thebes among the legends.

   Competition - Sydney

   Boxers qualify for the Olympic Games through regional qualifying tournaments in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. The number of boxers accepted from any region depends upon the strength of boxing in the region and varies according to weight division.

   The boxers are paired off at random for the Olympic Games, without regard to ranking. They fight in a single-elimination tournament, but, unlike most Olympic events, both losing semi-finalists receive bronze medals.

   List of events

   -- + 91kg (super heavyweight) Men

   -- - 48kg (light-flyweight) Men

   -- 48 - 51kg (flyweight) Men

   -- 51 - 54kg (bantamweight) Men

   -- 54 - 57kg (featherweight) Men

   -- 57 - 60kg (lightweight) Men

   -- 60 - 64 kg Men

   -- 64 - 69 kg Men

   -- 69 - 75 kg Men

   -- 75 - 81kg (light-heavyweight) Men

   -- 81 - 91kg (heavyweight) Men

History

   Discipline's origin

   Boxing has a long sporting history. The earliest evidence of boxing is found in Egypt around 3000 BC. The sport was introduced to the Olympic Games by the Greeks in the late 7th century BC. Greek boxers used thongs of soft leather to bind their hands and forearms for protection. Later, in Rome, the leather thongs were exchanged for the cestus which was studded with metal. Gladiatorial boxing matches usually ended with the death of one contestant. With the fall of the Roman Empire the history of boxing ends until reference to matches are once again found in 17th century English records.

   Organised amateur boxing began in 1880. The sport has grown from the rudiments based on the rules of professional boxing at the turn of the century to having its own identity, visibility and set of rules. Originally only three weight classes were contested. Although boxing can be traced back to ancient Greece and the original Olympic Games, boxing was not included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 because its popularity had become limited to the United States.

   Olympic history

   The United States of America won all the medals when boxing made its debut on the Olympic programme during the 1904 Olympic Games in Saint Louis. Not surprisingly, the United States was the only team to enter the boxing competition! Boxing was not included in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm because Swedish law prohibited boxing. In 1950 the AIBA Congress decided to have no contests for the bronze medal. It has thus been the practice since the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki that the losers of the semi-final are both ranked as placing third. In 1952 both third place finishers were only awarded diplomas. In 1956 this was changed and bronze medals are now given to both third place finishers.

   A more recent change to the rules and regulations occurred at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles when the compulsory wearing of head guards was introduced. An electronic scoring machine to make judges' officiating more objective was also introduced in 1992. Now only blows registered within one second by at least three of five judges are taken into account.

Equipment

   Apron

   The part of the ring canvas outside the ropes.

   Boxing glove

   A padded mitten used in boxing.

   Canvas

   The floor of the ring.

   Mouthpiece

   A form-fitted appliance placed in a boxer's mouth to protect his teeth and gums; also called a "gumshield".

   Headguard

   A protective device worn by boxers which covers most of the head, except the face.

   Ring

   An enclosure where boxing takes place.

Glossary

   Bantamweight: A boxing division with a 54-kilogram maximum weight.

   Belt: An imaginary line from the navel to the top of the hips, below which opposing boxers are not allowed to hit.

   Bout: A boxing contest; also called a "match".

   Break: A referee's order for boxers to step back and separate if they are in a clinch.

   Caution: The lightest potentially penalising move by a referee for an infringement by a boxer. Three cautions mean an automatic warning.

   Clinch: The act of one or both boxers holding the other in a way that hinders the other's punches.

   Corner: The junction of the ropes where a contestant rests between rounds.

   Count: The counting up to 10 seconds by the referee, after which, if a boxer is still down, a loss by knockout is declared.

   Down: 1. Touching the ring floor with some part of the body other than the feet. 2. Officially, also having any part of the body outside the ropes, hanging on the ropes helplessly after being hit, or being judged to be in a semiconscious state and unable to continue fighting.

   Featherweight: A boxing division with a 57kg maximum weight.

   Flyweight: A boxing division with a 51kg maximum weight.

   Foul: An illegal move, such as hitting below the belt or holding.

   Heavyweight: A boxing division with a 91kg maximum weight.

   Hold: To clutch the opposing boxer so he cannot punch.

   Infighting: Fighting at close quarters so blows using the full reach of the arm cannot be delivered.

   Knockout: A ruling where the referee stops the bout and declares a boxer the winner if his opponent has been down for the count of 10.

   Light flyweight: A boxing division with a 48kg maximum weight.

   Light heavyweight: A boxing division with an 81kg maximum weight.

   Light middleweight: A boxing division with a 71kg maximum weight.

   Light welterweight: A boxing division with a 63.5kg maximum weight.

   Lightweight: A boxing division with a 60kg maximum weight.

   Mandatory eight-count: An eight-second count that a downed boxer must take when he gets back to his feet, allowing the referee time to decide whether to continue the bout.

   Match: A boxing contest; also called a "bout".

   Middleweight: A boxing division with a 75 kg maximum weight.

   Out for the count: Knocked out for the referee's count of 10.

   Outclassed: A ruling where the referee stops the bout because a boxer is taking excessive punishment, and declares his opponent the winner.

   Passbook: An updated record of a boxer's bouts, used as a medical check among other purposes.

   Passive defence: Covering up with both arms and not trying to avoid a blow.

   Queensberry rules: The set of rules followed in modern boxing, developed by the 8th Marquess of Queensberry in the mid-19th century.

   Reach: The distance between the fingertips of the outstretched arm across the chest to the fingertips of the other arm outstretched.

   Round: One of a series of periods, separated by rests, which make up a boxing bout.

   RSC: Meaning "referee stops the contest", a term used to stop a bout when a boxer is being outclassed or is unfit to continue.

   RSCH: Meaning "referee stops the contest because of head blows", a term used to save a boxer from a knockout after he has received hard blows to the head which have left him incapable of defending himself.

   Saved by the bell: Saved from being counted out by the bell marking the end of the round (only possible in the final round of the final at the Olympic Games).

   Scoring hit: A clean hit with force, using the knuckle area of a closed glove, on the front or side of the opposing boxer's head or body above the belt.

   Second: A boxer's assistant.

   Southpaw: A left-handed boxer.

   Super heavyweight: A boxing division for fighters heavier than 91kg.

   Throw in the towel: The traditional declaration of defeat in boxing, where a second who feels his boxer cannot continue the bout throws a towel into the ring to end it.

   Warning: A notice from the referee that a boxer has committed an infringement of the rules (three warnings mean disqualification).