International Boxing Day

August 27 marks International Boxing Day, one of the most popular sports that has fans in all corners of the world Its history goes back several thousand years It was twice included in the list of disciplines of the Olympic Games - first in ancient times and then in modern ones Boxing has gone through a complex metamorphosis and turned from fist fighting into a contact sport with a strict set of rules, which is becoming increasingly popular among young people In fact, there is no exact date that can be called the official birthday of boxing Even ancient people were fond of fist fights, as evidenced by frescoes that have survived to this day Such competitions were held among the Egyptians, Sumerians and Minoans One of the most famous pieces of evidence was a fresco entitled “Boxing Boys,” which was found during excavations in 1967 on the island of Santorini According to rough estimates, it was created in 1550-1500 BC The fresco dates back to the Minoan civilization Once upon a time, it decorated one of the rich houses, but was subsequently buried under a layer of volcanic ash for many centuries The fresco depicts two almost completely naked young men fighting with their fists The boys have special equipment on their hands, which is very similar to modern boxing gloves Boxing received the status of an official sport only in 688 BC, when it was included in the list of disciplines of the Olympic Games In Rus', fist fights were also actively practiced, among which the most popular was the “wall to wall” battle Contrary to misconceptions, this fight was little reminiscent of a pile of mala, in which each participant waves his fists at the first opponent who came to hand - such fights were called “clutch-dump” and had nothing to do with “wall to wall” Each team had its own leader who developed the battle strategy The main task is to force the enemy out of the field or put him to flight The teams also had special players who were supposed to break the enemy’s tight formation "Wall to wall" was usually held on Maslenitsa mostly for fun, although the winners could be awarded symbolic prizes The competitions of ancient people bore little resemblance to modern boxing matches Only at the end of the 17th century did the first boxing championships begin to be held in Great Britain, inspired by the Englishman James Figg Coming from a poor family, he chose fistfights as his main source of income During one of his public appearances, Figg’s abilities were highly appreciated by an English nobleman, who helped the talented athlete open the first paid school for those wishing to learn fist fighting techniques However, Figg was not limited to boxing alone He had excellent command of a cleaver, a broadsword, a small sword and a club In a fairly short time, Figg became known throughout the UK He was considered the country's boxing champion Figg held tournaments that attracted hundreds of spectators There are still records of the most spectacular fights - combined fights in which opponents fought not only with fists, but also used various types of piercing and cutting weapons The number of boxing fans grew from year to year, and this sport required a strict set of rules In 1867, it was developed by another Briton named John Chambers, with the support of a local philanthropist A journalist by profession, he compiled a list of rules that regulated the size of the ring for the fight, the duration of the rounds and even the weight of the gloves This code remains relevant to this day, although gradually more and more amendments were added to it Almost forty years later, boxing was finally included in the list of disciplines of the modern Olympic Games Today it is classified into amateur and professional Each type of boxing has its own weight categories and scoring methods, which are fundamentally different