Origins of Boxing

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Boxing is a sport with a long and rich history. It all began in Ancient Rome, when consuls would make criminals and slaves fight to the death in elaborate stadiums. Winners who prevailed fight after fight might eventually be granted freedom. Even free men engaged in the sport to prove their manliness to the population. Simialr to today, boxers wore protective hand wear -- except theirs was made of leather and lined with destructive studs. These games became so popular that Theodoric the Great, a king, had to ban the sport in 500 A.D. due to its disruption of everyday life. Similarly, Egpytians and Mesopotamians in the third millennium engaged in "prizefights" during funeral rites, according to the Iliad. These prizefights were the first recorded boxing matches. Soon, a form of boxing could be seen in the illustrious Olympics in 688 B.C. and similar athletic competitions, and thus gained credibility as a sport.

Obviously, these forms of boxing were not nearly as elaborate or advanced as today's games. Without rounds, rings, weight classes, rests, or points, boxing simply declared the winner by whoever was left standing. Boxing has since expanded, becoming a complicated, but increasingly popular sport.

Sources:
-http://www.historyofboxing.info/
-http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/05/30/boxing-a-manly-history-of-the-sweet-science-of-bruising/
-http://whitecollarboxing.com/boxinfo.htm