The History of Amateur Boxing

The origins of boxing can be traced to the Greeks and the Romans. Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the world, however, amateur boxing did not become popular until the 18th century.
Englishman John Figg held a combination boxing, sword and quarter staff event that took place in London in 1719.

The first recorded boxing only amateur tournament took place in England in 1867. Englishmen John Sholto Douglas and the eighth Marquess of Queensbury founded the event. This led to the creation to the Marquess of Queensbury boxing rules.

  1. Queensbury Boxing Tournament

    • This tournament was called the Queensbury Amateur Championships. It began in 1867 and ended in 1885. What set this tournament apart was that the boxer was required to use gloves. The tournament became very popular in England, leading to the creation of the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) in 1880.

    Amateur Boxing Association

    • Twelve clubs joined forces to participate in the first ABA tournament in 1881. The ABA still governs and holds amateur boxing tournaments in England to this day. The four original weight classes were featherweight, lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight.

    Amateur Boxing Explodes

    • In 1902, The United States began sending over boxers to fight in the ABA tournaments. The strictly English tournaments began to take on an international flair, which led boxing to be introduced into the modern Olympic Games.

    Olympic Boxing

    • Boxing first appeared in the Olympics in 1904 in St. Louis. Boxing was a demonstration sport. It was held again at the 1908 Olympic games in London as a demonstration sport. By 1920, boxing became a permanent Olympic sport.

    Modern Amateur Boxing

    • The mass appeal of international boxing led to the creation of The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) in 1946. The AIBA is now the international governing body of Olympic Boxing.