An exhibition fight is a contact sports non-profit event, usually a boxing fight in which participants fight, normally for three rounds. They may wear large gloves to minimize punch harm or impact on the combatants, headgear, and non-boxing related clothing. Many exhibition fights involve popular current or former world champions, and exhibition bouts are usually carried out for charity purposes or for the public's entertainment. Exhibition fights are usually not listed as having taken place on boxer's career records.
Early in the 20th century, boxing exhibitions became popular across the United States. Many times, official fights had to be advertised as exhibitions, due to state laws prohibiting professional boxing. As the century progressed, Jack Dempsey, Jack Johnson[2] and others fought exhibition fights. Benny Leonard did an exhibition for the United Drive Rally on May 23, 1923.[3] Late 20th century[edit]
In 2006, Mike Tyson announced he would do a world tour consisting of exhibition bouts.[11] The only one of these fights to actually take place was a bout against his former sparring mate and fellow former professional boxer Corey "T-Rex" Sanders. This fight took place at Youngstown, Ohio.[12]
Late in 2014, Julio César Chávez returned to the ring for an exhibition with Vicente Sagrestano in a bout aimed at collecting toys for poor children.[14] He and former rival Mario Martinez, against whom he earned his first world championship in 1984, faced each other again on July 3, 2015, in an event to benefit Chavez's two drug rehabilitation clinics.[15]
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