boxing: References & Edit History
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Assorted References
- early sports development
- Olympic Games, ancient
- Olympic Games, modern
- sports and chronic traumatic encephalopathy
- weight divisions
Additional Reading
Michael B. Poliakoff, Combat Sports in the Ancient World (1987), contains a history of very early boxing. Harry Mullan, The Illustrated History of Boxing (1987), is a comprehensive history of professional boxing. Bohun Lynch, The Prize Ring: Illustrated by Reproductions of Old Prints, Several Oil Paintings, and of the Famous Byron Screen (1925), traces the history of the sport from the bare-knuckle period; and Harry Carpenter, Boxing: A Pictorial History (1975, reissued as Boxing, an Illustrated History, 1982), focuses mainly on the professional sport. See also Nat Fleischer, The Heavyweight Championship: An Informal History of Heavyweight Boxing from 1719 to the Present Day, rev. ed. (1961); Elliot Gorn, The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prizefighting in America (1989); and Jeffrey T. Sammons, Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society (1988). Thomas Hauser, The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing (1985), provides an in-depth look at the sport and business of modern professional boxing. Current biographies of major figures in the sport include Thomas Hauser, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (1991); Mark Kram, Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier (2001); Nick Tosches, The Devil and Sonny Liston (2000); and Jack Newfield, Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King (1995). For comprehensive statistics, see The Boxing Record Book (annual); The Ring Boxing Almanac and Book of Facts (annual); and the British publication Boxing News Annual.
For information on the history of boxing in the arts, see Robert A. Hartley, History and Bibliography of Boxing Books: Collectors Guide to the History of Pugilism (1989); William D. Cox (ed.), Boxing in Art and Literature (1935); and Arthur Krystal, “Ifs, Ands, Butts: The Literary Sensibility at Ringside,” Harper’s Magazine: 63–67 (June 1987).
Ron Olver Nigel Collins Thomas HauserBy The Way
Title unification in boxing
The most important sanctioning bodies that govern boxing and rank fighters are the World Boxing Council, the World Boxing Association, and the International Boxing Federation; each of these bodies awards a world title to its own champion. These groups, sometimes known as the alphabet organizations because they are referred to by their acronyms of WBC, WBA, and IBF, have little interest in seeing that their titles remain unified with one fighter. Nor is it in the interest of boxing promoters to have all the titles invested in one fighter. There is more money to be made from television revenues by having three different champions fight in three title bouts than to have one champion fight in one bout. Ergo, the rules concerning mandatory defense—that is, the contender that a champion must face before he is permitted to choose an opponent—are not the same for the three groups. A fighter can therefore be in the invidious position of being contractually committed to fight two different contenders first. When he is unable to meet that impossible qualification, he may be stripped of a title.
Lennox Lewis found himself in this position when he was stripped of his WBA crown in 1999. Lewis had agreed to fight American Michael Grant, and the fight had been sanctioned by the WBA. In a court action promoter Don King claimed that the WBA had not followed its own sanctioning rules. A U.S. court agreed, and Lewis was forced to choose between the WBA belt and keeping his agreement with Grant. He fought Grant and lost the WBA championship. Political maneuvering is a common aspect of title unification.
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Nigel Collins
- Thomas Hauser
- Arthur Krystal
- Ron Olver
- Michael Poliakoff
- Jeffrey Thomas Sammons
-
E.C. Wallenfeldt
Emeritus Professor, Kent State University, Ohio.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Other Contributors
- Igor Gabor
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBC update. | Mar 08, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Healthline - Boxing Benefits: 6 reasons to try throwing a punch. | Feb 12, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Case Western Reserve University - Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Boxing and Wrestling. | Sep 29, 2023 | ||
| Cross-reference added. | Sep 28, 2023 | ||
| Links and photo added. | May 11, 2023 | ||
| Changed the placement of media. | Mar 09, 2023 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 09, 2023 | ||
| Changed placement of a video. | Mar 09, 2023 | ||
| Changed placement of media. | Mar 09, 2023 | ||
| Added an interactive on the different weight divisions in men's and women's Olympic boxing. | Mar 08, 2023 | ||
| Added an interactive on the different weight divisions in men's and women's boxing. | Mar 01, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Live Science - Surprising benefits of boxing you might not know. | Jan 02, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: PBS - American Experience - Boxers of the Golden Age. | Aug 23, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: PBS - American Experience - Boxers of the Golden Age. | Aug 23, 2022 | ||
| Removed media. | Nov 12, 2021 | ||
| Changed “black” to “Black” throughout article. | Aug 20, 2020 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Mar 19, 2020 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 18, 2020 | ||
| Add new Web site: International Olympic Committee - Boxing. | Nov 29, 2019 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Sep 28, 2018 | ||
| Add new Web site: Kidzworld - Get Involved with Boxing. | Oct 10, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Mar 15, 2016 | ||
| Updated names of weight divisions to reflect changes made by the major boxing organizations in 2015. | Apr 24, 2015 | ||
| Added video. | Dec 31, 2014 | ||
| Added information on white-collar boxing. | Jun 12, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Boxing. | Jan 07, 2014 | ||
| Media added. | Jan 07, 2014 | ||
| Changed weight limit for the cruiserweight class from 190 pounds to 200 pounds. | Jul 30, 2013 | ||
| Added references to Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. | Apr 22, 2013 | ||
| In Boxing in art, literature, and film section, updated with notable recent boxing movies. | Apr 19, 2013 | ||
| Added women's amateur and Olympic weight classes. | Apr 11, 2013 | ||
| Removed men's featherweight Olympic classification and adjusted the weights of the light flyweight, flyweight, and bantamweight classes accordingly. |
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Apr 11, 2013 | |
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Boxing. | Feb 22, 2013 | ||
| Article revised to mention that women's boxing was added to the Olympics at the London Games. | Aug 23, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Boxing. | Aug 13, 2010 | ||
| Expanded reference to Roman boxing to mention gladiatorial contests. | Jun 02, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Entertainment - How Boxing Works. | Mar 06, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Entertainment - How Boxing Works. | Jun 25, 2008 | ||
| Documents added to article. | Jun 04, 2008 | ||
| Media added. | May 05, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. | Apr 10, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. | Apr 10, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Martial-Way - Martial Boxing. | Dec 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Max Energy Limited - Boxing. | Dec 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Buzzle.com - History of Boxing. | Dec 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Boxing Gyms - Origins of Boxing. | Dec 19, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Maps of World - Biography of Vera Caslavska. | Dec 11, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Apr 28, 2005 | ||
| Article revised. | Aug 14, 2003 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 26, 1999 |