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Boxing

Two Royal Navy men boxing for charity in July 1945
Also known as	Western boxing, pugilism[a]
Focus	Punching, striking
Country of origin	The sport itself: Ancient history, possibly Prehistoric Modern rules: United Kingdom
Olympic sport	688 BC (ancient Greece) 1904 (modern)

Boxing^[b] is a combat sport and martial art.^[1] Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two opponents throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time. It is usually done wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards.

Although the term 'boxing' commonly refers to the Western style, where only the fists are used, it has evolved differently in various regions and cultures across the world. Today the term, "boxing" is also used to refer to any combat sport focused on striking, where two opponents fight each other using their fists, and could possibly involve kicks, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and headbutts, depending on the rules. These include bare-knuckle boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Lethwei, savate, and sanda.^[2][3] Boxing techniques have been incorporated into many martial arts, military systems, as well as other combat sports.

Humans have engaged in hand-to-hand combat since the beginning of human history. It is unclear when boxing became a sport,^[4] but some sources suggest prehistoric origins, dating back to as early as the 6th millennium BC in what is now Ethiopia. It is believed that when the Egyptians invaded Nubia, they adopted boxing from the local populace, subsequently popularizing it in Egypt. From there, the sport of boxing spread to various regions, including Greece, eastward to Mesopotamia, and northward to Rome.^[5]

The earliest visual evidence of boxing comes from Egypt and Sumer, both from the 3rd millennium,^[6] and are found in Sumerian carvings dating to the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC.^{[7][8][9][10]} The earliest evidence of boxing rules dates back to Ancient Greece, when boxing was added to the Olympic games in 688 BC.^[7] Boxing evolved through the prizefights of the 16th - 18th-centuries, largely in Great Britain, to its modern forerunner in the mid-19th century, with the introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules in 1867.

Boxing is overseen by a referee^[11] and consists of a series of 1 - 3 minute intervals called "rounds". A winner can be decided before the rounds are complete if a referee determines that an opponent is unable to continue, disqualifies an opponent, or if the opponent is knocked out or quits. When the fight reaches the end of its final round, and both opponents are still standing, the winner is determined by the judges' scorecards. In case both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, it is considered a draw. In Olympic boxing, because a winner must be declared, judges award the contest to one fighter based on technical criteria. Amateur boxing is part of both the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, and is a standard feature in most international games. Boxing also has its own world championships, which are governed by the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO.

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