Boxing
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The Rules and Basics of Boxing
If you learn and understand the basics of boxing, it really makes each fight even more exciting. Here is a simple guide to the core elements of professional boxing below:
Weight Classes and Divisions
In professional Boxing, there are 17 standard weight classes that range from minimum weight, which is 105 pounds, to heavyweight, which is above 200 pounds and more.
The Original 8 traditional divisions are:
- Flyweight
- Bantamweight
- Featherweight
- Lightweight
- Welterweight
- Middleweight
- Super middleweight
- Heavyweight
While the newer modern additions are the tweener classes and bridgerweight, and atomweight in women’s boxing.
Boxing Ring and Equipment
Most professional boxing rings are between 16 and 24 square feet inside the ropes. The larger ropes favor the more slick and quick movers with good footwork, while the smaller rings favor aggressive fighters.
The basic equipment required for a fight is gloves, hand wraps, a gum shield, trunks, boots, and a groin guard.
Scoring and Judging
All professional boxing matches use a 10–point must system where the winner of each round gets 10 points, and the loser generally gets 9, but if there is clear dominance, then the loser's tally can be dropped to about 8 or 7.
Three judges generally score the fight at ringside, and the referee inside the ring can stop the contest if he chooses. Some of the other possible outcomes are a unanimous or split decision, knockout, technical knockout, disqualification, or a technical draw.
Major Boxing Organizations
At the highest world level, there are four major bodies that dominate the sanctioning of title fights and determine who to award the belts to in the ring.
- WBC: The World Boxing Council was founded in 1963, and it is based in Mexico City. The WBC is widely known around the world as one of the best governing bodies.
- WBA: The World Boxing Association is the oldest major organization that was originally formed as the National Boxing Association back in 1921, and its headquarters are now in Panama.
- IBF: The International Boxing Federation was first formed back in 1983 in the United States, and it is recognized as one of the major world championship sanctioning bodies.
- WBO: The World Boxing Organization was created in the late 1980s, and it is now fully accepted alongside the others, WBC, WBA, and IBF, as a legitimate world title.
Legendary Boxers
Some boxing legends will forever be remembered and define entire eras of boxing history. Here are some of those undisputed boxing legends:
- Muhammad Ali: Arguably the greatest heavyweight icon of the 1960s-70s, three-time world champion, and a huge cultural impact on the sport and the globe.
- Sugar Ray Robinson: Sugar Ray is widely considered one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers ever. Robinson dominated the 1940s-50s and had an impressive record of 173-19-6.
- Joe Louis: The “Brown Bomber” was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1937 to 1949, and he defended his title a whopping 25 times, which is a record that still stands to this day.
- Mike Tyson: Tyson was the youngest ever heavyweight champion at the age of 20. The young boxer had terrifying power in his punches, and his 88-second knockout is still talked about today.
- Floyd Mayweather Jr: Floyd retired with a record of 50-0 and was known for a masterful defensive strategy and dominating the welterweight and super welterweight classes, and also became the highest-grossing fighter in the history of the sport.
The Future of Boxing
Till this day, the sport of boxing continues to evolve both inside and outside of the ring.
- PPV and Streaming Evolution: Some of the major fights are increasingly becoming pay-per-view and subscription fights on platforms like DAZN, ESPN+, and Prime Video, so all the promoters have control over the revenue and how fans can watch the fights.
- Social Media and New Audiences: Social Media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok have all introduced millions of younger fans to the sport, and influencers and celebrities' fights certainly hype up the world of professional boxing.
- Next-Gen Stars and Pathways: The traditional ways of going professional are still strong, like the Olympics and national programs, while women's boxing has become even more interesting and draws more fans each day.
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