"the British Invented Modern Boxing" is this a true statement or false.... ancient civilizations used to box like greece and rome, but im talking about "modern boxing" queensbery rules?? do you consider the british to be the creators of modern boxign
It was our rules that defined the original eight weight classes IIRC. In the early 1900s. London Prize Ring Rules was the dominant force before. It allowed for a lot of clinching, roughhouse tactics and fights would go on for long periods of time with no gloves.John. L Sullivan was the dominant force going into the shift to the acceptance of 'Queensbury Rules', though Jem Mace was seen by many as a true great of the previous tradition, and thus he taught many techniques to his charges, such as a Cornish ex-pat called Robert Fitzsimmons ;-) IMO, the greatest fighter of the first ten or so years of widespread gloved boxing. Another mark for Britain, although they met each other in Australia, where Mace was giving exhibitions and seminars. Fitz's influenced stretched from Oceana to the U.S. I'm not actually certain as to how the Queensbury Rules became widespread. In America, stricter rules were sometimes placed on bouts. In many States it was outlawed. John L. Sullivan was an early advocate for gloved boxing, he was of course American, so he obviously recognised the positive factors in a stricter ruleset, probably due to having hundreds of fights that went on for hours and hours. The trepidation a fighter could have when battling against broken hands was lessened by the ability to wear gloves. He was the face of boxing at the time and renowned across the World for his larger than life persona and brutal displays as 'World Heavyweight Champion'. Gloves refined the way the Queensbury rules were implemented, and made the most out of the rules set down. There were many pioneers of 'Queensbury Rules Boxing' from Britain and Ireland. Many of the bare fist pioneers were from these shores (such as Jem Mace) and many Irish immigrants to the States were pioneers of the gloved sport, such as Peter Maher, 'Nonpareil' Jack Dempsey and 'Gentleman' Jim Corbett, and of course Bob Fitzsimmons. Britain/U.K definitely influenced boxing massively during the 'pioneer' stages of the sport. It produced many of the best boxers of the era, and the one bona fide great from that era was from England.....kinda'
I'm too tired to compete with that post Flea (Good call on Mace!)!! The LPR and later the NSC "created" modern boxing in as much as you can "create" anything IMHO.
I will add that The Walker Law, conceived by the New York State Athletic Commission, was without a doubt as important a change in the early stages of boxing. So, if we're talking about where the 'modern game' really started, this important shift as well as the first generation U.S boxers definitely played as important a part in the moulding of what we think of when we think of 'modern boxing'. 15 rounds, less roughhouse tactics still, it finally turned boxing from the rough around the edges sport most perceive 'the early days' to be into what we know and love today. The 80s rule changes, 24 hour weigh in rule and 15-to-12 rounds, well...I think that has made the sport suffer as a spectacle, but that's a different debate entirely.
Jack Broughton created the first set of 'Modern' Boxing rules (Broughton Law (1743)), after he killed an opponent in a fight in 1741. James Figg is generally considered the first 'Modern' Boxer, and was the first to be considered British Champion (1719). As for Queensberry Rules, as mentioned Jem Mace did more than anyone to popularize the sport in the 19th Century, indeed Mace was arguably the first International Sporting superstar, making a name for himself in Britain, The States and Australia.