I INTRODUCTION

Boxing, fistfighting sport between two matched combatants wearing padded gloves. A boxer’s primary aim is to land as many blows as possible to the head and torso of the opponent, using strength and speed to dominate the contest. One of the oldest sports still practiced, boxing dates back thousands of years. Today the sport is popular in many parts of the world and encompasses both amateur and professional matches. Sometimes it is referred to as pugilism, from the Latin word pugil, meaning “a boxer.” c7i24ic
Boxing Sometimes called “the sweet science,” the sport of boxing requires agility, strength, toughness, and lightning-quick reflexes.Courtesy of ESPN Sports. All rights reserved.
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Mike Tyson American boxer Mike Tyson, left, connects with a jab against Frank Bruno, right, during their 1989 bout in Las Vegas, Nevada. The youngest fighter to win a world heavyweight title, Tyson unified all three major championships in 1985, establishing an impressive record of 37 wins, no losses and 33 knockouts. The later years of his career were more troubled, including a 1992 rape conviction that sent him to prison for three years and a suspension for biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear in a 1997 title bout.
Sugar Ray Leonard Shown here in a 1987 bout against Marvin Hagler (in dark trunks), American boxer Sugar Ray Leonard (in white trunks) became the first professional fighter to win world championships in five different weight classes. Before turning professional in 1977, Leonard amassed an impressive amateur record of 145 wins and 5 losses, winning a gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games.
For most of the 20th century boxing attracted huge fan and media attention in the United States. Some boxing champions became legendary, larger-than-life figures, such as Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. Criticized to varying degrees throughout its history for its violent nature and high injury rate, boxing has somehow always managed to survive—and even thrive—as a sport.

II RULES

GREAT MOMENTS IN SPORTS
Original Boxing Rules
In mid-19th-century Britain, prizefighting was a bloody, rough-and-tumble sport popular with society’s lower classes. Hoping to improve the sport’s social standing, a young boxing enthusiast named John Graham Chambers drew up a new set of bout regulations. To give the new rules added legitimacy, Chambers enlisted the support of John Sholto Douglas, the 8th marquess of Queensberry, who published them in 1867. These regulations, which included the mandatory use of padded gloves and time limits on rounds, came to be known as the Marquess of Queensberry Rules. Modern boxing is based in large part on these 12 rules.
Modern boxing regulations are based upon the 12 rules set out by British boxing officials in the mid-19th century. These rules became known as the Marquess of Queensberry Rules, named for the 8th Marquess of Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas, who sponsored and published them. In addition to in-the-ring rules, modern boxing also has specific regulations regarding eligibility for the fighters themselves. Sanctioning bodies can bar boxers from competing in a certain jurisdiction for medical reasons or for violating specific rules or codes of conduct.
The modern rules for professional and amateur bouts differ, but both types of contests are divided into time periods, called rounds. In professional bouts each round lasts three minutes; in amateur bouts, two minutes. A one-minute rest period between rounds is standard. Amateur contests consist of three rounds; professional bouts may consist of up to 12 rounds. A bell is usually sounded by a timekeeper to begin and end each round.

A Gloves
A key step in making boxing safer and more respectable was the introduction of gloves, ending brutal bare-knuckle competition. Boxing gloves are heavily padded to soften the impact of the blow and to protect the hands of the boxer. As an added protection, the hands are taped before being placed in the gloves, which are essentially huge mittens. Professional gloves usually weigh between 170 and 226 g (6 and 8 oz); amateur gloves average 226 to 340 g (8 to 12 oz).
B Ring
All boxing matches take place in the ring, an enclosed area in which the boxers fight. Ordinarily on a raised platform, the ring is surrounded by three ropes supported by posts at each corner. Its floor is padded and covered by canvas for better traction and to protect the head of a boxer in the event of a fall or a knockdown. Sometimes referred to as a squared circle, a boxing ring is actually a square that measures 5.5 to 7.3 m (18 to 24 ft) on each side, depending on the available space. After each round, each fighter returns to a specific corner of the ring, which is diagonally across from the corner of the opponent. The other two corners are called neutral corners.
C Officiating
Modern boxing includes a referee, who is stationed inside the ring and officiates the bout, calling fouls and separating fighters caught in a clinch (hug). Boxing fouls include blows below the belt, blows to the back of the head, kicking, tripping, gouging (such as to the eye), biting, and headbutting. A boxer who commits a foul loses points and may be disqualified for repeated violations. Ringside officials, or judges, score the fight using an established point system.
D Deciding the Winner
Floyd Patterson During the 1956 heavyweight championship bout, American boxer Floyd Patterson watches as his opponent Archie Moore falls to the floor. Patterson won the fight seconds later, in a knockout decision.Huynh Cong/AP/Wide World Photos
A boxing match can be decided in several ways: by disqualification; by knockout (KO), when a fighter is knocked down and cannot get up within ten seconds; by technical knockout (TKO), when a fighter is judged physically unable to continue or does not answer the bell to begin a new round; or, at the end of all scheduled rounds, by decision, using the scores tallied by the ringside judges. Less commonly the scoring officials will declare the fight a draw (tie) or will rule “no contest” and stop the fight if both boxers are not competing adequately. The referee has the authority to count a fighter out or to declare them unfit to continue, often in consultation with a ringside physician.

III TECHNIQUES

A successful boxer must have sound training and fundamental techniques. These techniques include stance, punches, feints (fakes), blocks, footwork, and other aspects of the sport sometimes called the “sweet science.” In addition, boxers often employ different strategies during a bout.
A Training
Modern training routines differ little from those of earlier times. Fighters still keep trim by working with the heavy bag, a large punching bag suspended from the ceiling, and the speed bag, a smaller bag attached to a swivel at eye level. The heavy bag enables a fighter to practice different kinds of punches while the lighter bag improves timing and coordination. Rope jumping, weightlifting, cardiovascular exercise, sparring (practice fighting) with partners, and distance running are other important training techniques. Fighters have increasingly trained at high-altitude sites to improve their conditioning, especially for high-profile bouts.
B Stance
While many boxers develop unique styles, they all must have a proper stance and good footwork. These two essentials enable a boxer to maintain balance, whether advancing in an attack or retreating from an opponent. A right-handed boxer positions the left foot about one step in front of the right one and holds the left side of the body in a direct line with the left leg. The left fist, ready to jab or ward off blows, is extended slightly in front of the body at about shoulder level. The right fist should be near the jaw to protect the face or to be driven straight out if needed offensively. The chin should be kept down, tucked into the upper left shoulder. The teeth should be clamped tightly to the mouthpiece so that the mouth is protected in the event of a blow to the face.
C Offensive Techniques
To be effective, boxers must have an assortment of punches that are coordinated with their footwork. Less powerful punches often serve the important role of setting up the fighter’s chief “weapons,” as boxing analysts sometimes call a boxer’s main offensive skills.
C1 Feinting
Moving the hands or head to confuse an opponent is called feinting. A smart boxer will first test the opponent by trying different feints, noting the reaction to each one before deciding which will be most effective to set up a punch.
C2 Left Jab
The boxer delivers a left jab by striking out with the left arm while the left elbow is straightened sharply. A boxer opens up less with a jab than with many other types of punches. The jab can also be used to ward off blows.
C3 Right Cross
The right cross is usually the most powerful blow of a right-handed boxer. It is delivered by feinting with a left jab and, before the jab reaches the mark, driving the right fist straight out while the boxer twists to the left and pivots on the sole of the right foot.
C4 Left Hook
Delivering a left hook properly requires perfect coordination and timing. The boxer executes this punch by starting the left arm from the jab position with the palm facing the right, driving the hand out, and circling it in an arc.
C5 Uppercut
Almost always delivered with the right hand, the uppercut is usually most effective after a jab. The blow starts from the direction of the floor and is aimed at the chin of the opponent.
C6 Combination Punches
A series of blows designed to make contact with a fast-moving opponent are called combination punches. This is usually accomplished with a combination of different blows, such as a left jab followed by a right cross or an uppercut.
D Defensive Techniques
All offensive boxing tactics have corresponding defenses. Clever footwork and the quick use of the hands, shoulders, and torso will protect a boxer from many threats. Techniques such as infighting and elusiveness are all-important in the defensive maneuvers of a boxer.
D1 Infighting
In infighting, the boxer keeps as close as possible to the opponent while delivering choppy punches to the body or face. Keeping close prevents the opponent from getting off long-range blows that could result in a knockout. The technique is particularly useful for boxers with a short reach.
D2 Elusiveness
The boxer makes vulnerable parts of the body as difficult to reach as possible. While keeping the feet steady, the fighter moves the head from side to side, keeping the body in motion to avoid becoming a stationary target. A skilled defensive fighter can often either duck punches or elude them completely.
D3 Other Defensive Measures
A tired boxer can go into a clinch, grabbing the opponent’s arms and holding on tightly. Another defensive technique is covering up so that both arms cover the front of the body.

IV AMATEUR BOXING

Olympic Boxing, 1992 Amateur boxing matches are shorter than professional contests, and boxers wear protective headgear and heavier gloves. The pinnacle of international amateur boxing competition takes place every four years at the Summer Olympics. In the 1992 Olympic Games, American boxer Oscar De La Hoya (in red) won the gold medal in the lightweight division, which is classified as 130 to 135 lb (59 to 61 kg).

An amateur boxing match is one without prize money, sometimes known as a fight’s purse. Amateur boxers typically wear larger gloves than professional boxers and protective headgear, minimizing the risk of injury. Bouts usually consist of a maximum of three rounds. Different amateur boxing organizations have existed since the 19th century, including the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) in England, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) of the United States, the Golden Gloves Association of America, USA Boxing, and the International Amateur Boxing Association (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur, or AIBA). Many amateurs begin boxing in their teens, and organizations such as Golden Gloves run competitions for young boxers in many communities.
Boxing: Olympic Gold Medalists
Many of the greatest professional boxers in history first made a name for themselves in amateur boxing, especially at the Olympic Games. Boxing debuted as an Olympic sport in 1904 and is also a part of many other international competitions. Most amateur boxers are classified in the 12 Olympic weight divisions (listed here with maximum weight allowed): light flyweight, 106 lb (48 kg); flyweight, 112 lb (51 kg); bantamweight, 119 lb (54 kg); featherweight, 125 lb (57 kg); lightweight, 132 lb (60 kg); light welterweight, 139 lb (63 kg); welterweight, 147 lb (67 kg); light middleweight, 156 lb (71 kg); middleweight, 165 lb (75 kg); light heavyweight, 178 lb (81 kg); heavyweight, 201 lb (91 kg); and super heavyweight, over 201 lb (over 91 kg).

V PROFESSIONAL BOXING

Boxing Champions
Professional boxing, once known as prizefighting, has a long and colorful history. Championship pro bouts have produced some of the most memorable events and colorful figures in sports, as well as some of the richest purses. With the development of pay-per-view broadcasting that can be sold worldwide, a modern heavyweight title fight can command guaranteed purses of as much as $10 million to $20 million or more per fighter. Lower divisions usually fight for less. Pro boxing matches are usually scheduled for between four and ten rounds, depending on the fighters’ experience. Championship bouts are set up for 12 rounds. Professional boxing uses the same divisions as amateur boxing, with slight variations in the weights, some interim divisions (such as junior bantamweight and junior featherweight), and the absence of a super heavyweight slot.
GREAT MOMENTS IN SPORTS
Rocky Marciano's Last Professional Fight
Boxer Rocky Marciano, undefeated in 49 professional fights and heavyweight champion of the world from 1952 to 1955, retired after his last title bout, a titanic battle with light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore.

Modern professional boxing is governed by a number of different sanctioning bodies. Major ones include the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC), and the International Boxing Federation (IBF). Championship titles are often symbolized by an ornate belt that goes to the winner. The same fighter can vie for the title of more than one organization, but different rankings and rules about who can fight the champion mean that the titles are almost always split between several boxers. If one fighter manages to capture the titles of all the major organizations at once, this is known as “unifying” the title and the boxer is the “undisputed” champion. As the names of the sanctioning bodies suggest, pro boxing is an international sport with competitors from many countries.

VI HEALTH AND SAFETY

Boxing and Injury Much of the controversy that surrounds the sport of boxing concerns the physical damage each boxer sustains during a bout. During a 1995 fight in London, British boxer Nigel Benn (in black shorts) landed several punches to the head of American boxer Gerald McClellan. The severe brain damage that McClellan suffered left him blind and impaired his memory.Chris Laurens/FSP/Liaison Agency
Though minimized by managers, promoters, and boxing officials, boxing’s physical tolls on competitors are real and serious. Not only are there immediate dangers—broken noses, bleeding, eyes swollen shut, and, rarely, death—but there is the possibility of lasting damage caused by repeated blows to the head, a condition known as pugilistica dementia, or punch drunkenness, with symptoms that include slurred speech and the dragging feet sometimes known as “boxer’s shuffle.” The beating that boxers take may also cause a variety of other serious problems, such as neurological damage, detached retinas, sinus problems, and deformed (“cauliflower”) ears.
These problems are compounded at many levels of the sport by inadequate regulation (such as allowing incompetent or injured fighters to compete) and poor supervision during and after a fight. There is no federal oversight of the sport—boxing is governed by state commissions that are often inexperienced and motivated by political objectives. Although monitoring of the physical condition of boxers has improved and medical facilities are now usually required during a bout, fighters are still vulnerable—boxing fatalities continue to occur every year. Although doctors disagree on the extent of permanent damage that boxers suffer, there is no question that boxers put their short- and long-term health at considerable risk. Various health groups and other organizations, including the American Medical Association (AMA), have at one time or another called for boxing to be banned altogether.

VII CORRUPTION

Boxing’s image also suffers from a long-running reputation for corruption. Criminal elements were attracted to the sport as boxing grew into a big-money business during the 20th century. In the past boxers were often more vulnerable than other athletes to criminal influence because of the individualistic nature of the sport combined with the fact that many fighters grew up in poverty and will do almost anything to escape from that life.
The scandals and “fixes” have occurred at all levels of the sport, and for every documented instance there are many more suspected but often unproved. Examples of scandal-plagued fighters and organizations include Italian heavyweight Primo Carnera, whose sensational rise during the 1930s proceeded from fixed fights in which his opponents had been paid to lose (“take a dive”); the International Boxing Club, a major East Coast fight promoter that sometimes colluded with racketeers in the 1940s and 1950s; and boxing czar Paul John (“Frankie”) Carbo, a powerful boxing manager with ties to organized crime in the 1940s and 1950s, who was convicted of extortion in 1961.
While corruption continues in boxing today, the fighter is almost always the innocent party. The governing bodies, which control the all-important rankings, are now the most likely sources of scandal. Robert Lee, the former president of the IBF, was banned from boxing for life and sent to prison in 2001 for accepting bribes from promoters. Many promoters sign multifight contracts with top fighters, functioning as managers without actually looking after the boxers’ best interests.

Despite some improvement in the sport’s image, boxing is still plagued by the presence of a rogue element. One of the most powerful figures in all of boxing since the 1970s is promoter Don King, a notorious figure who helped shape the careers of heavyweight champions Larry Holmes and Mike Tyson. King’s checkered legal past includes a manslaughter conviction, an acquittal for tax evasion and fraud, and numerous other criminal investigations. King’s boxing business dealings, while presumably legal, are equally problematic. He often controls all the principal figures in a major fight, in effect administering the title himself. His influence with governing bodies is legendary. Boxing’s aura of corruption is reinforced by the fact that most of the sport’s big-money title fights now take place in Nevada, where the giant casinos can host the event and simultaneously take in millions of dollars in bets on the outcome. Gambling appears to have less direct influence on the sport than it once did, however.

VIII HISTORY

The origins of boxing are unknown. Although the Greek poet Homer describes a two-person fight in the Iliad, it is not certain that such bouts took place as early as the epic poem’s setting around 1800 bc. Along with running, wrestling, and the use of weapons, boxing was part of a young man’s education in ancient Greece. Records indicate the sport was part of the ancient Olympic Games of 688 bc. Plato mentions boxing in both The Republic and the dialogue Gorgias, and the poet Pindar elegized the Olympic boxing champion of 474 bc.
The Romans also embraced boxing, turning the sport into a brutal gladiatorial spectacle (see Gladiator). Boxers of this time covered their hands and arms with a leather thong called a cestus, sometimes studding it with metal spikes. The combatants often fought until one was fatally injured.
A Early Modern Era
Bare-Knuckle Boxers Two boxers from 1742 face each other in the basic boxing stance. Boxing gloves were not required until the 1860s, when the Queensberry rules were first introduced.THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

With the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century ad, boxing seemed to disappear, at least as a formal sport. Boxing did not reappear in society until the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660 ushered in a more relaxed moral atmosphere, allowing the sport with a barbaric history to make a comeback. The first mention of a staged fight came in an English newspaper in 1681, and the first boxing champion—self-appointed—was James Figg, who claimed the title in 1719. James Broughton, a protégé of Figg, drew up a set of rules in 1743 promoting the idea that boxing was a bona fide British sport. Broughton’s rules forbade hitting below the waist or hitting an opponent who was down. Although most bouts were still bare-knuckle, Broughton also promoted the use of rudimentary gloves known as “mufflers.” These regulations remained the standard in the sport until they were supplanted by the Revised London Prize Ring Rules of 1838.
Despite a 1750 ordinance outlawing prizefighting in Great Britain, many members of the nobility believed boxing symbolized the manly virtues of courage, strength, and fair play. Boxing academies enrolled poets and nobles, and outstanding fighters such as Daniel Mendoza, Tom Cribb, and “Gentleman” John Jackson emerged. But with the rise of the middle class and the influence of reform and religious movements during the early 19th century, public approval of boxing sagged. New antiprizefight laws were passed, police began stopping fights, and judges prosecuted those involved. Many boxers subsequently emigrated to the United States, hoping to find greater boxing opportunities.
B Boxing Comes to America
Unlike Britain, the United States had no real boxing history. Without the patronage of rich or powerful men, prizefighting was associated with saloon culture, gambling, and political corruption, less a sport than a means to settle a grudge. In 1835 New Jersey became the first state to legally prohibit prizefights, followed by Massachusetts in 1849 and New York in 1859. By 1880, 38 states had made prizefighting illegal. Nonetheless, the sport grew, fueled in part by its expansion to the West (where fighting was tolerated in mining and railroad camps), by great waves of European immigration, by increased newspaper coverage, and by the shrewdness of promoters who appealed to ethnic and nationalist rivalries. Notable fights between Tom Hyer and “Yankee” Sullivan in 1849 and between Sullivan and John Morrissey in 1853 attested to boxing’s newfound popularity. By 1860, the fight between the British champion Tom Sayers and the American fighter John C. Heenan attracted widespread attention.
In the decades following the Civil War (1861-1865), boxing in the United States suffered a decline. Fixed fights, ringside violence, and indifferent fighters cemented boxing’s unsavory reputation. Once again, bare-knuckle prizefights were no more respectable and no less brutal than dog fights—hastily convened under cover of night and one step ahead of the law. The same could not be said for the gloved contests sponsored by gentlemen’s or athletic clubs or to sparring sessions in colleges.
C Modern Rules
James J. Corbett An American heavyweight champion, James J. Corbett fought a four-hour contest in 1891 that resulted in a draw after 61 rounds. After retiring from boxing Corbett began a career in vaudeville where he was known as “Gentleman Jim” Corbett.Library of Congress
The social distinction between gloved contests and bare-knuckle prizefights continued even after British boxing official John Graham Chambers drew up the Marquess of Queensberry Rules in the 1860s. The popular conception that the Queensberry Rules made boxing less dangerous is not strictly true: Wearing gloves made fighters more willing to strike an opponent’s head (the skull is hard on bare knuckles), while the introduction of three-minute rounds ended the practice of boxers falling to one knee for a much-needed rest, as they could under the Revised London Prize Ring Rules.
John L. Sullivan American boxer John L. Sullivan, left, was the bare-knuckle heavyweight champion of the world from 1882 until his death in 1918.
Whatever the merits of the new rules as opposed to the older rough-and-tumble ones, boxing did not automatically gain respectability solely because of them. Another important factor was a charismatic figure named John L. Sullivan, who infused new life into the sport and turned it into something resembling a mainstream institution. Although Sullivan is remembered as the last great bare-knuckle fighter, he often insisted on the use of gloves. Sullivan’s celebrity took the sport to unprecedented commercial heights. His bouts with Jake Kilrain in 1889 (the last bare-knuckle championship contest) and James J. “Gentleman Jim” Corbett in 1892 (the first championship bout to be governed by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules) were the most famous sporting events of their time.
Moralists and reform-minded legislators continued to rail against boxing’s brutal and criminal aspects, but men of the upper classes now came to look upon boxing as an illustration of “muscular Christianity,” which celebrated a sound mind in a sound body. Boxing’s respectability, however, came at a price: With fortunes to be made, unscrupulous business practices and promotional hype increased, as did the influence of racism.
D Boxing and Race Relations
Boxing initially tolerated the mingling of races in fair competition. As early as 1810 and 1811, Tom Molineaux, a freed slave, twice fought and lost to the English champion Tom Cribb. White fighters in the United States also fought black opponents, but as boxing became more institutional, white fighters and their managers avoided black boxers for business reasons. As in baseball, where blacks were allowed to play in the very early days of the sport, there developed in the late 19th century a so-called Negro circuit of boxers, which included George “Little Chocolate” Dixon, Joe Gans, Peter Jackson, Sam Langford, and Harry Wills. Because of the symbolism and prestige attached to the heavyweight title, and the pressure to keep it “white,” black boxers had an easier time getting fights in the lighter weight classes. In 1908, however, black fighter Jack Johnson wrested the heavyweight championship from Canadian boxer Tommy Burns.
As champion, Johnson aggravated America’s racial tensions, taunting his white opponents and marrying a white wife. Promoters tried to find a white boxer to match him, but the best to be found was a woefully out-of-shape former champion, Jim Jeffries, whom Johnson destroyed in 13 rounds on July 4, 1910. The defeat sparked race riots across the nation in which at least a dozen black men were killed. Afterward, the film of the fight was outlawed in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Since state legislators could not be sure of which other films Johnson appeared in, Congress also made it a federal offense to engage in interstate commerce of fight films for the purposes of public exhibition. Johnson’s reputation made it increasingly difficult for black fighters to get important fights.
Growing financial incentives added to boxing’s appeals to racial, ethnic, and nationalist sentiment. Canny promoters such as George “Tex” Rickard utilized racial hatred at the Johnson-Jeffries bout and patriotic fervor at a bout between American Jack Dempsey and Frenchman Georges Carpentier in 1921 to whip up interest, producing boxing’s first million-dollar gate. It was around this time that society finally acknowledged that boxing was here to stay—most antifight laws were overturned and state athletic commissions were assigned to regulate the sport.
E Golden Age of Boxing
Joe Louis Joe Louis, nicknamed the Brown Bomber, first became world heavyweight champion in 1937 and went on to successfully defend his title 25 times, holding the title longer than any other boxer.
Jack Dempsey One of boxing’s best-known fighters, Jack Dempsey, seen here in 1927, did much to popularize the sport. Nicknamed the Manassa Mauler for his hometown in Colorado and his aggressive fighting style, Dempsey became heavyweight champion in 1919 and held the title until Gene Tunney defeated him in 1926. After losing a controversial rematch with Tunney in 1927, Dempsey retired from boxing.
The years between 1920 and 1927 were the so-called Golden Age of Boxing. The man who personified the sport was American heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, whose fights with Carpentier, Luis Firpo of Argentina, and Gene Tunney of the United States received front-page newspaper coverage. But after Dempsey’s second loss to Tunney in 1927, the heavyweight division fell on hard times. Subsequent champions such as Max Baer lacked intensity, while Primo Carnera of Italy, James Braddock, and Jack Sharkey lacked polished boxing skills. Max Schmeling of Germany, perhaps the best fighter during this period, ended up winning the title from Sharkey on a foul.
HISTORIC HEADLINES
Tunney Beats Dempsey
This article announces Gene Tunney's victory in the 1926 world heavyweight boxing championship. Tunney defeated the previous champion Jack Dempsey.
The sport needed a great champion. On June 22, 1937, Joe “the Brown Bomber” Louis took the crown from Braddock, the beginning of a long and triumphant reign. The black champion’s non-threatening persona was specifically crafted by his managers in response to the legacy of Jack Johnson. Many people felt that Louis’s model deportment both inside and outside the ring helped reduce racism in the United States. Louis defended the title a record 25 times and retired as champion in 1949 (although he later made an unsuccessful comeback). In his famous 1938 title bout with Schmeling—heralded as a showdown between American democracy and German fascism as the world descended into war—Louis posted a decisive first-round knockout.
Rocky Marciano American boxer Rocky Marciano retired in 1956 with a record 49 wins and no losses, becoming the first heavyweight champion in history to retire undefeated. Here Marciano takes Roland LaStarza to the ropes in 1953.

Sugar Ray Robinson Sugar Ray Robinson earned his nickname from a sports writer who declared him “the sweetest fighter—sweet as sugar.” Robinson was world welterweight champion from 1946 to 1951 and later won five middleweight championships.
A host of good heavyweights followed Louis: Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Rocky Marciano. But the very best fighters at the mid-century were welterweight and middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson and light heavyweight champion Archie Moore. After Marciano retired in 1956—still the only heavyweight titlist to retire unbeaten—Moore tried to move up and capture the heavyweight crown but lost to Floyd Patterson. Patterson himself lost the title in 1959, then a year later became the first heavyweight to regain the world title before losing it for good to Charles “Sonny” Liston in 1962. Liston was an imposing champion, a fighter whose criminal record and gangland connections made him seem even more fearsome.
F Modern Champions
Joe Frazier American boxer Joe Frazier knocks down compatriot Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971, in one of the most publicized bouts in the history of boxing. Frazier had previously won the gold medal at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.UPI/Corbis
Few fans and observers gave brash young challenger Cassius Clay a chance in his 1964 title bout against Liston, but Clay won on a technical knockout, inaugurating the reign of one of the century’s most celebrated sports figures. Soon after winning the crown, Clay, a member of the Black Muslims, changed his name to Muhammad Ali. When Ali was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967, he refused induction on religious grounds, and as a result was stripped of both his title and his license to box. Ali successfully challenged his criminal charges and was reinstated as a boxer in 1970.
Marvin Hagler From 1980 to 1987 American boxer Marvin Hagler held the title of middleweight champion of the world. Hagler, right, beat John Mugabi of Uganda, left, in an 11th-round knockout in a 1986 title fight.
A year later, Ali met reigning champion Joe Frazier in one of the most anticipated fights in boxing history. In a battle that lived up to the hype, Frazier won a tough decision over Ali. Less than two years later, Frazier was defeated by George Foreman. The 32-year-old Ali then regained his title in 1974, defeating Foreman in the African country of Zaire. Using a style he dubbed Rope-a-Dope, Ali sagged against the ropes of the ring and let Foreman punch him over and over with little counterattack. Foreman wore himself out throwing punches and Ali scored a stunning eighth-round knockout. Age and injury took their toll on Ali, however, and he lost the title to an unheralded Leon Spinks in 1978. He later regained it, but eventually lost again to Larry Holmes and retired in 1981.
Young Mike Tyson In 1986 Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of all time, winning the World Boxing Council (WBC) title at 20 years of age. By 1987 Tyson had unified the heavyweight crown, capturing the World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles. He dominated the heavyweight division during the late 1980s, earning 37 victories without suffering a defeat. Here, the referee steps in after Tyson delivers a fifth-round punch to opponent Tyrell Biggs.
Holmes was the most consistent and talented heavyweight of his time, winning 20 straight title fights between 1978 and 1985. But during his reign as champ, boxing itself began to slip into organizational chaos. By the mid-1980s, the three major boxing organizations—the WBA, WBC, and IBF—were basically anointing their chosen champions. Worthy challengers were often denied big fights while unqualified boxers were thrust into the limelight. The result was a slew of mediocre titleholders, reminiscent of the early 1930s.
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali first won the world heavyweight championship title in 1964 but was stripped of it three years later after he refused induction into the army. Ali regained the title in 1974 and in 1978, making him the first boxer to become world heavyweight champion three times.
During the 1980s fighters in the lighter weight divisions captured the public’s attention in a way that heavyweights of that decade did not. This came from a combination of personable fighters who emerged from the 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games, the ascendancy of outstanding Hispanic fighters, and some memorable bouts between evenly matched combatants such as Roberto Duran of Panama and Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns of the United States.
George Foreman American heavyweight George Foreman flexes his muscles during the weigh-in before losing a heavily publicized 1991 fight with Evander Holyfield in a 12-round decision. Foreman began fighting professionally in 1969 and his career included 40 consecutive fights without a defeat. He retired in 1977, then returned to the ring in 1987 and is credited with helping renew popular interest in heavyweight boxing.
The stagnant heavyweight division received a needed jolt with the emergence of Mike Tyson in 1985. A New York City street hood as a youth, Tyson was rescued from the juvenile criminal system by Cus D’Amato, a legendary boxing trainer who once guided Floyd Patterson to the heavyweight title. A short, bull-like fighter with devastating speed and power, Tyson became the youngest man ever to win the heavyweight championship in 1987 at the age of 20.
Evander Holyfield Boxer Evander Holyfield, right, trades punches with Ray Mercer during a bout in 2001. Holyfield was one of the top heavyweight fighters of the 1990s, holding all of the major titles at one time or another.
Tyson unified the title and reigned until 1990, when he was knocked out by James “Buster” Douglas in one of boxing’s greatest upsets. Tyson’s efforts to reclaim the championship were derailed by a series of problems, including a three-year prison sentence for rape in 1992 and, during his subsequent comeback, a bizarre incident during a 1997 title fight against Evander Holyfield when Tyson bit his opponent’s ear twice. No single fighter emerged to fill the void created by Tyson’s fall, and the heavyweight title remained fractured for almost all of the 1990s and into the 21st century. The top heavyweights during this era included Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, and, in an improbable comeback in his 40s, George Foreman.
Lennox Lewis Fighter Lennox Lewis throws a left jab in a 2001 bout. The British-born Lewis won the three major heavyweight boxing titles in 1999 with a victory over Evander Holyfield.Simon Bruty/Allsport/Getty Images
As with the period just after Muhammad Ali retired, however, smaller fighters filled the heavyweight vacuum. Boxers such as Roy Jones, Oscar de la Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley, and Felix Trinidad became some of the sport’s most popular attractions. Though they did not attract the same level of heavyweight money, these fighters proved to be stars in boxing’s new pay-per-view world, where individual households generate the payouts. De la Hoya, in particular, became a huge draw with the growing Hispanic audience for boxing.
G Women’s Boxing
Boxing has been overwhelmingly a male pursuit throughout its history. Fights between women were staged as early as the 18th century in London. However, women’s boxing was mostly outlawed until the bans were challenged beginning in the late 1980s. In 1993, following a well-publicized lawsuit against it, USA Boxing began to implement a female amateur boxing program. Major professional sanctioning bodies began to recognize and promote women’s bouts around the same time, and women fighters such as Christy Martin developed strong reputations.
Women’s boxing attracted even more attention as the relatives of former boxing greats began competing, culminating in a match in 2001 between Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, the daughters of former heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. However, this bout was perceived as a publicity stunt and did little to generate long-term interest in the sport. The first Women’s Amateur World Boxing Championships were held in 2001, and officials hoped to qualify the sport as an Olympic event in 2004 or 2008.