Can anybody of the older and more experienced guys explain me, since what time and for what reason US amateur boxers had to wear jerseys. When I see old videos from the amateur times of Muhammad Ali he is shirtless. My coach told me this was usual in national bouts, wheras in international bouts they had always to wear jerseys. When did the rules change? Somebody told me it's because of identification of teams, but for instance swimmers have team logos on speedos which is much less space than on boxing trunks. I'd prefer going back to former rules and be barechested in national amateur bouts. We don't wear shirts in amateur kickboxing or thai-boxing as well.
Ali at the Olympics wore a jersey. The reasoning for jerseys in amateur boxing is as follows: 1. To distinguish the amateur boxer from the professional 2. To aid in the identification of the boxer (blue corner/red corner) 3. To prevent abrasions and rope burns to the torso 4. To absorb sweat and dirt to keep it off one's gloves or the opponent.
Thanks very much for your reply. I heard these reasons before, but I don't think they are logical. Ad 1: Why do you have to distinguish Amateur boxers from pros by dress code? There is no other sport in which they do, including kickboxing and thaiboxing. You have still headgears for differentiation of amateurs. Ad 2: Identification could be done by colour of gloves, headgear and trunks in a sufficient way. Ad 3 and 4: These reasons, which deal with health and hygienics could be applied to professional boxers, amateur and prof kickboxers and thaiboxers as well but there they seem to be of no significance. According to my own experience fighting shirtless in amateur kickboxing rope burns are not a big problem, as the ropes are usually covered with plastics and have a smooth surface. Concerning sweat the gloves touch the opponent's skin on arms, neck and face and have to be cleaned anyway after the fight. There maybe some exchange of sweat in clinching, but not only with bare chest but also wearing a shirt, much less as for instance in wrestling. That's in boxing as in any contact sport, and in my opinion of no significance as everybody takes a shower after the fight. So my question remains unanswered, also concerning the date of changing the dress code in US amateur boxing.
No, your question was answered. You just didn't like the answer that you got. And as an amateur; I'm all for fighting with a jersey on. I'm not a pro; I'm not being paid, I feel more comfortable fighting in a jersey right now.
In the meantime I got the answer I was looking for: The only valid and stringent reason is the taking over of responsibility for US amateur boxing by the US-ABF (amateur boxing federation) from the AAU (Amer. athletic union) in 1978, changing and adjusting our national rules to the international rules which had been obligatory in most other countries and at the Olympics long before. Any other reasons mentioned are nothing but personal opinions and preferences. I regret that some of the above comments are only ironic and not very helpful. Nevertheless thanks for discussion.
Actually you're wrong. Kolya is a Level 1 USA boxing official and the reasons he listed were quoted (almost verbatium) from the USA boxing rule book. You would have known that if you actually knew the rules, but then again, if you knew the rules you wouldn't have asked the question in the first place.
