Boxing

==Professional vs. amateur boxing==
[[File:Prvoslav Vujčić and Roberto Durán.jpg|thumb|upright=1.05|left|[[Roberto Durán]] (right) held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight.]]
[[File:DEGAN Gabin ( female boxing).jpg|thumb|[[Women's boxing|Women's Amateur Boxing]]]]
Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, boxing bouts were motivated by money, as the fighters competed for prize money, promoters controlled the gate, and spectators bet on the result.

The modern Olympic movement revived interest in amateur sports, and amateur boxing became an Olympic sport in 1908. In their current form, Olympic and other amateur bouts are typically limited to three or four rounds, scoring is computed by points based on the number of clean blows landed, regardless of impact, and fighters wear protective headgear, reducing the number of injuries, knockdowns, and knockouts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.discovery.com/tech/headgear-protects-boxers-brains-120208.htm|title=Headgear Protects Boxers' Brains, Mostly|last=Emspak|first=Jesse|date=8 February 2012|work=DNews|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423025636/http://news.discovery.com/tech/headgear-protects-boxers-brains-120208.htm|archive-date=23 April 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref> Currently scoring blows in amateur boxing are subjectively counted by ringside judges, but the Australian Institute for Sport has demonstrated a prototype of an [[Automated Boxing Scoring System]], which introduces scoring objectivity, improves safety, and arguably makes the sport more interesting to spectators. Professional boxing remains by far the most popular form of the sport globally, though amateur boxing is dominant in Cuba and some former Soviet republics. For most fighters, an amateur career, especially at the Olympics, serves to develop skills and gain experience in preparation for a professional career. Western boxers typically participate in one Olympics and then turn pro, while Cubans and boxers from other socialist countries have an opportunity to collect multiple medals.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/northern-ireland/19153615|title=Barry McGuigan explains Cuban boxing success|publisher=BBC|date=18 April 2013}}</ref> In 2016, professional boxers were admitted in the [[Boxing at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] and other tournaments sanctioned by [[International Boxing Association (amateur)|AIBA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jun/01/professional-boxers-allowed-compete-at-rio-olympics|title=Professional boxers will be allowed to compete at Rio Olympics|work=The Guardian|date=June 2016}}</ref> This was done in part to level the playing field and give all of the athletes the same opportunities government-sponsored boxers from socialist countries and post-Soviet republics have.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thesweetscience.com/feature-articles/46924-president-john-brown-wrecking-ball|title=Feisty USA Boxing President John Brown Sees Better Times Ahead|work=The Sweet Science|access-date=21 December 2017|archive-date=15 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615163327/http://www.thesweetscience.com/feature-articles/46924-president-john-brown-wrecking-ball|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, [[List of boxing organisations#Professional organisations|professional organizations]] strongly opposed that decision.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/wbc-forbids-its-champions-and-ranked-fighters-from-going-to-olympics/|title=WBC forbids its champions and ranked fighters from going to Olympics|work=boxingnewsonline.net|access-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052210/http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/wbc-forbids-its-champions-and-ranked-fighters-from-going-to-olympics/|archive-date=22 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/sports/olympics/pro-boxers-at-the-olympics.html|title=Pro Boxers at the Olympics: An Opportunity, or a Dangerous Power Grab?|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 August 2016|last1=Belson|first1=Ken}}</ref>

===Amateur boxing===
{{Main|Amateur boxing}}
[[File:Nicola adams crop.PNG|thumb|upright=1.45|[[Nicola Adams]] (left) is the first female boxer to win an Olympic gold medal. Here with [[Mary Kom]] of India.]]

Amateur boxing may be found at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, [[Commonwealth Games]], [[Asian Games]], etc. In many other venues sanctioned by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing has a point scoring system that measures the number of clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Bouts consist of three rounds of three minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and three rounds of three minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds.

Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip or circle across the knuckle. There are cases however, where white ended gloves are not required but any solid color may be worn. The white end is just a way to make it easier for judges to score clean hits. Each competitor must have their hands properly wrapped, pre-fight, for added protection on their hands and for added cushion under the gloves. Gloves worn by the fighters must be twelve ounces in weight unless the fighters weigh under {{convert|165|lb}}, thus allowing them to wear ten ounce gloves. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands cleanly on the head or torso with sufficient force is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. A belt worn over the torso represents the lower limit of punches – any boxer repeatedly landing low blows [[below the belt]] is disqualified. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. If this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized or ultimately disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if a boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://boxing.about.com/od/amateurs/a/oly_rules.htm |title=Andrew Eisele (2005). ''Olympic Boxing Rules'', About.com |publisher=Boxing.about.com |date=9 April 2012 |access-date=18 May 2012 |archive-date=6 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206103415/http://boxing.about.com/od/amateurs/a/oly_rules.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Amateur bouts which end this way may be noted as "RSC" (referee stopped contest) with notations for an outclassed opponent (RSCO), outscored opponent (RSCOS), injury (RSCI) or head injury (RSCH).

===Professional boxing===
{{Main| Professional boxing}}
<!-- Commented out: [[File:WilliamsvsKolle24.jpg|thumb|A professional boxer punches his opponent via jabbing. Note the two boxers being bare-chested and without headgear.]] -->
[[File:Bellows George Dempsey and Firpo 1924.jpg|thumb|right|[[Luis Ángel Firpo|Firpo]] sending [[Jack Dempsey|Dempsey]] outside the ring; painting by [[George Bellows]]]]

Professional bouts are usually much longer than amateur bouts, typically ranging from ten to twelve rounds, though four-round fights are common for less experienced fighters or club fighters. There are also some two- and three-round professional bouts, especially in Australia. Through the early 20th century, it was common for fights to have unlimited rounds, ending only when one fighter quit, benefiting high-energy fighters like [[Jack Dempsey]]. Fifteen rounds remained the internationally recognized limit for championship fights for most of the 20th century until the [[Boxing in the 1980s|early 1980s]], when the death of boxer [[Kim Duk-koo]] eventually prompted the [[World Boxing Council]] and other organizations sanctioning professional boxing to reduce the limit to twelve rounds.

Headgear is not permitted in professional bouts, and boxers are generally allowed to take much more damage before a fight is halted. At any time, the referee may stop the contest if he believes that one participant cannot defend himself due to injury. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win. A technical knockout would also be awarded if a fighter lands a punch that opens a cut on the opponent, and the opponent is later deemed not fit to continue by a doctor because of the cut. For this reason, fighters often employ [[cutman|cutmen]], whose job is to treat cuts between rounds so that the boxer is able to continue despite the cut. If a boxer simply quits fighting, or if his corner stops the fight, then the winning boxer is also awarded a technical knockout victory. In contrast with amateur boxing, professional male boxers have to be bare-chested.<ref>Bert Randolph Sugar (2001). "Boxing", World Book Online Americas Edition [http://www.owingsmillsboxingclub.com/boxing.htm Owingsmillsboxingclub.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619215358/http://www.owingsmillsboxingclub.com/boxing.htm |date=19 June 2006 }}</ref>