Boxing has been around ever since we had people with punchable faces. We know the Mesopotamian had boxing but archaeologists are unsure that they had round-girls. And, if they did, what did they wear? Lycra hadn’t been invented, yet, so the short-shorts had to be made from coarse leather which probably chaffed something awful. Babylonians boxed as well and I’ll take that information to my grave just as soon as I buy one on ebay.
We know that they Greeks used boxing gloves made from leather thongs. These protected the boxers’ fists. The boxers’ faces, however, were on their own. A match usually continued until one of the contestants surrendered, fell unconscious or were attacked by the Persian Navy. There was no gouging, strangling or wrestling holds which implies that you might as well have slapped dresses on them.
We know the sport was popular and interesting because the Romans appropriated it for 
themselves later on. Of course, they Roman’d it up with metal studs or little spikes to make things more interesting to the viewer. And, it was usually to the death… but, in all fairness, most Roman entertainment was to the death—even some dramas involved killing one or more of the actors. The Romans were hardcore when it came to amusement…
After the Romans had perfected things, face punching contests didn’t change much for about a thousand years; then, the Brits decided to take the sport to the next level. All the gouging, choking, throwing and head-butting that had been conspicuously absent from the sport, was put back in. Really, the only difference between a prizefight and a regular fight was the prize. They had to dial back the brutality, eventually. Rules were invented, the most famously by the Marquis of Queensbury who, among other things, decided spiked shoes were inappropriate for a boxing match… but okay for a night of dinner and dancing.
With the modern rules pretty much in place, boxing could develop into the barely watched and unpopular sport it is today. That’s what you get when you eliminate eye-gouging…
Potatoes and the Promise of More Potatoes 
Oddly enough the husband and I are boxing fans. Not quite sure how that happened, but there it is.
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My dad taught me to enjoy boxing. He was a boxer until my mother laid down the law…
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My husband’s uncle was Golden Gloves and sparred with Sonny Liston when he was training for the Ali bout.
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Now THAT’S something to tell your grandkids about…
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The other day I got new yoga pants from Amazon. When they arrived, I held them and thought they looked huge. I put them on and they fit like a glove. Thank goodness for lycra!!
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All of my speedos are made from lycra. My glitter-boots all come from Nike…
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That’s quite a look! The glitter boots sound impressive! 🙂
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My stripper-name is “Rubens’ Nightmare”…
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Boxing has been around ever since people had sex… its just a new kind of “development”, I guess. I have to check my scientific resources. 😉😂
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Knowing you, you’ll combine the two anyway, Ray…
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haha, im in the middle of the spiritual and sexual celibat
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I can’t wait to read it!
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Okay, my Dad…who abandoned us at a young age…was a Golden Glove Boxer. Even tho I didn’t know him much, a Dad’s influence stays with you…(what am I, a duck?) which explains why to this day I have a heavy bag outside, and a speed bag inside. Yeah, and the weights too. Have I gotten into fights? No, but I’m always on the look out and I’ve never backed down. I just stand there and laugh. Bullies are like dogs. If you show fear, you lose. Laughing is the best response. Over 18, and slugging someone can land you in jail. Unless you’re in the ring, of course, and getting paid to slug someone. So yeah, this is something else you and I have in common.
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I used to keep a heavy bag, too. A great way to work off the anger and rage that would’ve meant terror for my family otherwise…
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I’ve got one word for you Charles … WWE
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Nah… I’m done with “pro-wrestling”…
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🙂
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I LOL’d on your very first line.
I wonder given the back and forth movement of eye-gouging and such from the noble sport of boxing whether there isn’t a Universal Inverse Horowitz, Horowitz, Fine Violence Law with regards to boxing and the Three Stooges? When one goes up the other goes down? Just a working hypothesis at the moment…
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I do recall the Shemp Corollary to the Marquis of Queensbury rules… but the outcry after The Five Fingers of Death really clinched the deal…
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Gotta love old school 🏫
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Old school has a lot of class!
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