Boxing, although it started off as just fighting and was later renamed boxing because of the ring, has been around since the romans. The term boxing comes from the German word box, which means to strike or blow, and also because of the ring (square) that boxers fight in. Professional boxing matches are won by dealing blows to your opponent. Throughout history boxing has had a lot of changes but at the same time, has remained very traditional. Injuries, and who fought are two examples of changes that boxing faced primarily in the early 20th century that changed boxing into what it is today.
Boxing
started off as not a very popular sport, romans (mainly peasants and slaves)
fought to entertainment people of higher class and to move up in social class,
independence from masters or just for their own enjoyment. By the early 19th
century, boxing began to make a come back as immigrants from Europe started
practicing the sport. By the late 19th century and early 20th
century boxing became widely practiced and the classes of who fought changed.
Middle class workers saw the sport as “the manliest sport” that there was.
In
the turn of the century immigrants from European countries such as Great
Britain, Italy and Ireland started boxing in the states. And soon after boxing
was made into an Olympic sport. By 1908 professional boxing was a regularly
practiced sport, almost as popular as basketball at that time.
As
boxing became popular and more people fought in the professional league, racial
tensions began to rise. After winning multiple titles in the professional
league, African American Fighters such as Jack Johnson, Sugar Ray Robinson and
George Dixon, were seen as having an unfair advantage. Lightweight boxing champion
of 1902 Joe Gans was forced by his promoters to fight less skilled white
fighters and lose. And as times got worse, fighters from other countries were
not able to fight in the tournaments because white fighters would not fight
them. But promoters weren’t the only ones who were fighting for easier matches.
Hollywood as well as the Klu Klux Klan made films and threatened to lynch
fighters if they won against white fighters. In 1919 the lynching of black
boxers and fighters of other races reached a high of over 85 lynches that were
known. Just as things were getting worse, Whites and blacks were finally
brought together by the “fight of the century”. African American boxer Joe
Louis and German fighter max schmilling. For Americans and Germans schilling
symbolized the entire Aryan race and Louis’s color was disregarded. After two
fights, one loss and an amazing 1 round knockout, Louis’s was made champion and
quickly became a symbol of democracy for all races in America.
Nevertheless,
boxers met defeat, if not in the ring they would at home. Boxing because it is
a full contact sport leaves the evidence of its existence on the athletes who
practice it. As it became a popular sport, the injury/death tallies started to
rise. In the 20th century alone there was over 1000 boxing related
deaths in the professional league and countless amounts of injuries from broken
ribs to people being diagnosed with diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease from
multiple hits to the head.
Boxing,
whether you look at the ancient boxing matches practiced by the Romans or the
20th century professional matches by Americans and Europeans, has
changed with time. And the people who fought changed along with it also.
i used this website to gain general information on boxing and what its rules. this website also gave information on who boxed and at what time as well as names of famous professional boxers such as Jack Johnson and Joe Louis.
i used this link to find information on professional boxing, and when it was made. it gave me information on its background also such as what year it was made into an olympic sport.
this book gave person statements by famous boxers from the 20th century and the challenges they had to face during the time whether it was racial or in the ring
boxing related injuries
this gave me list of books that gave information on boxing related injuries and what they were.
boxing related injuries
this gave me list of books that gave information on boxing related injuries and what they were.
