Boxing
Boxing history
How the competition came to look the way it does.
Twelve rounds, four belts
Gloved boxing under codified rules replaced bare-knuckle prizefighting and made regulation possible.
Round limits fell over the century, from unlimited to fifteen to twelve, almost entirely for safety reasons.
The proliferation of sanctioning bodies is a comparatively modern development and remains the sport's main structural criticism.
Season-by-season champions, records and historical tables need a licensed historical data source. Until we have one, this page carries written history only.