The sport and the art

I keep reading posts, usually in defense of the latest pitty-pat merchant, stating that the object of boxing is "to hit and not be hit". This topic is an attempted rebuff to this assertion. The history of boxing is a long and complex one. Evidence of organised bouts of single combat between unarmed men dates back as far as 3000 BC and I don't doubt that it occurred long before even that. But the modern sport of professional boxing has far more recent origins. The London Prize Ring rules were drafted in 1743 and were the first set of formalized rules in the modern game. This was the first record of combat being divided into rounds, each round continuing indefinitely until punctuated by a knockdown. The downed fighter then had thirty seconds to come back to the scratched mark in the center of the ring and be ready to fight. In order to win you had to render your opponent unable to "come up to scratch", whether this be through damage sustained or sheer exhaustion. And with fights lasting upwards of 100 rounds exhaustion was doubtless a factor in more than a few losses. These fights were bare knuckle. In 1867 under the patronage of the 9th Marquess of Queensberry John Douglas, a list of 12 basic rules were drafted. These are below: 1. To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable. 2. No wrestling or hugging allowed. 3. The rounds to be of three minutes' duration, and one minute's time between rounds. 4. If either man falls through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the 10 seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man. 5. A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down. 6. No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds. 7. Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest; so that the match must be won and lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes. 8. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new. 9. Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee's satisfaction. 10. A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes. 11. No shoes or boots with springs allowed. 12. The contest in all other respects to be governed by revised rules of the London Prize Ring. No longer could a man simply fight to win, he had to do so within the confines of the rules. You will notice however that there is no provision for the fight to end unless one or both fighters is unable to continue. In 1891 the National Sporting Club (with the fifth Earl of Lonsdale as patron) drafted nine extra rules to augment the Queensberry rules. Within those rules was a provision for a system of scoring to determine a winner if no stoppage occurred within the predetermined length of the bout. However such rules were not accepted universally until well into the 1920s when unlimited duration prize-fights were still commonplace. Even after the 20s and into the 30s fights were still routinely organised for forty rounds, with the result almost inevitably being a stoppage. By the end of the 30s it was standard that prize fights took place for a maximum of 10 rounds apart from title fights at 15 rounds. Despite the fact that there was now an established means of winning without a knockout (paving the way for skilled defensive wizards like Willie Pep) it was the knockout, the stoppage loss that still held and indeed still holds the imagination of fans of the sport of boxing. So the sport of boxing has as its climax, as its goal, the knockout. Just as the goal of football is the Touchdown and baseball is the Home Run, the knockout is the ultimate object of a fighter. But what of the art of boxing? The art of boxing is not the same as the sport of boxing. You could, in theory, become proficient in the sport of boxing without showing much at all of the art of boxing. The art of boxing is to hit and not be hit. It's the clever use of movement, parries, feints, ducking and slipping to avoid being hit and to carry out your attacks, and it's sometimes beautiful to watch. In the sport of boxing it is most effective to use the art of boxing in order to execute your aim: To knock out your opponent. Try not to get the two confused.