The rules of boxing in the ring are generally governed The Marquess of Queensbury Rules. The Queensbury Rules (or Queensbury as they are generally known) is a set of generally accepted rules in the sport of boxing. 

They were first published in London in 1867, and were named after John Douglas the 9th Marquess of Queensbury as he publicly endorsed the code. However, a little known fact is that they were actually written by a Welsh sportsman named John Graham Chambers.

Prior to the adoption of the Queensbury Rules, boxing was covered by the London Prize Ring Rules and many of the rules first laid down within these are still in effect today. So rules forbidding the use of head-butting, gouging, scratching, kicking, biting or hitting a man whilst he's down were first listed in the London Prize Ring Rules. However these rules were superseded by the Queensbury Rules.

What made the Queensbury Rules standout from any previous rules of boxing was that the they mandated the use of boxing gloves for the first time. The Queensbury also outlawed some of the practices which were allowed under the London Prize Ring Rules such as: the use of bare knuckles, throws of the opponent and certain holds, as well as limited use of spiked shoes!

The Queensbury laid down twelve clear rules for boxing and outside of those rules deferred to the London Prize Ring Rules. Whilst the rules of boxing have been updated over the years (mostly wiping out the London Prize Ring Rules), the Queensbury remain the foundation of boxing as we know and love it today.

The Queensbury Rules still form the basis of the rules used in modern professional and amateur boxing matches, and today the term "Queensbury" has come to be used as a reference to sportsmanship and fair play.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
This post is part of a series in the Blogging From A To Z Challenge, April 2022.

 

9 comments:

  1. Cant even imagine boxing with out gloves!

    rules dating back to 1867 show how old the sport is !!


    Dropping by from a to z "The Pensive"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sometimes i wonder why we have sports that make people fight ... but the rules and regulations are what transforms it into a sport i suppose

    ReplyDelete
  3. I never thought about rules in a boxing ring, but of course there are rules! Every sport needs guidelines to ensure fair play. Very interesting!

    Thanks for the visit. Doesn't Speak Klingon

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm going to use that today in my conversation and see how many people actually know what Queensbury rules mean. It will be an interesting day.
    Cheers,
    Barbie

    ReplyDelete
  5. OH!! These are great. I know these of course, I have written a lot of Victorian era fiction over the years. But that image is new for me.

    Thanks for stopping by today!
    --
    Tim Brannan
    The Other Side | A to Z of Conspiracy Theories

    ReplyDelete
  6. Queensbury Rules actually sounds like a good story title. Thanks for sharing this history.

    https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2022/04/blogging-from-to-z-2022-quantum-leap.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rules are always a good idea in any sport. Especially where people can get hurt if rules aren't followed.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's amazing that these rules have been in effect for so many years. Fairplay always important in sports.
    Questions

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow. I learnt something new today!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, we really appreciate it!

Anyone can comment and all comments will appear after word verification.

Spam will be dealt with appropriately.

(Apologies for the temporary glitch of being unable to reply directly to comments, I'm working on this)

Cheers