Boxing today is among the world’s most popular sports, boasting some of the largest and most spectacular events and tournaments of all time. It’s been home to some of the true athletic greats, and there are millions upon millions of people across the world that are eagerly awaiting the next big boxing match.

Among all of the sports that the modern world enjoys, boxing is considered one of the oldest, dating back thousands of years. In fact, there’s a good chance that boxing might be the oldest sport in history, with evidence suggesting that it was popular among the ancients during the dawn of civilisation and written history.

The Origins of Boxing

While there’s no definitive evidence of where exactly boxing as a concept was first created, there’s plenty of evidence to show where it was popular. Ancient Egypt and Ancient China, as well as the Sumerians, all left behind evidence of boxing as a sport and pastime.

The Sumerians are widely considered to be the world’s first civilisation, and left behind a multitude of tablets and other pieces of information about the way that they lived. It was also a popular pastime in ancient Greece, where two men would hit each other with the fists wrapped in some kind of cloth. This is perhaps the first instance of the kind of boxing that we know today, even if it’s changed drastically over the centuries.

The Romans would eventually deem that boxing was too violent and would ban the pastime for the next few centuries, and while it certainly remains popular in the underground, it would lose much of its allure among the general crowd.

Boxing Resurfacing

Boxing would once again gain public attention during the 16^th century, where it was a popular sport in the city of London. It became a favourite way for the rich and elite to settle disputes, and they would focus on bringing back ancient boxing rules from centuries past. Over time, it developed into a more popular sport, and even a crude form of sports betting would pop up, with the rich betting on who would win in a fight.

This undoubtedly lay the groundwork for the type of boxing that we know and love in the modern world and continued to grow in popularity over the next few decades.

Today’s Boxing

Boxing would eventually make its way over to the New World, the United States, during the 19^th century, where it would be established as a legitimate sport and pastime for many. Famous President Roosevelt was known as an advocate of boxing. During his time as a police commissioner, he would have his officers train in boxing. It turned into a true national sport and would eventually become one of the leading sports within the country and the rest of the world, alongside other sports, types of betting, and the best NZ casino bonuses. It would also become subject to more rules and restrictions, and a variety of different leagues and tournaments sprung up, many of which exist to this day.