Boxing is a popular activity that can often be seen on TV. It has a great history with boxers such as Ali, Foreman, and Mike Tyson. A lot of people wonder if it also is a sport. Let’s discuss this in more detail.
What is a sport?
The word “sport” is used as a synonym for physical activity or exercise. You might say that someone is a “sport” because they are active and fit. But what does it mean to be a sport? In the broad definition, it means a physical activity that requires certain skills.
Stricter definitions also require that sports have a competitive element. An activity needs 3 components before it can be considered a sport according to these definitions:
1/ A physical activity
2/ That requires a skill
3/ And has a competitive element
In today’s world, most sports involve competitive games where the goal is to beat your opponent. This means that you can’t participate in a sport without having an opponent.
A lot of sports can be viewed on TV and a lot of people have a favorite athlete. This can inspire them to start practicing this sport as well.
Let’s take a look at boxing.
What is boxing?
Boxing is an activity in which people are trying to touch each other with their fists. It is not allowed to touch certain areas. The boxers are also not allowed to turn around, grapple, or kick. These moves are allowed in other sports such as MMA or kickboxing. In traditional boxing, contestants have to stand on their feet and follow specific rules.
A jury can award points for each move. There are classic moves such as:
-Hook: this is attacking the opponent with a bent arm. It is important that you don’t forget your defense when you do this as the opponent can slide right in.
-Jab: This is attacking the opponent with the right hand. You throw the arm forward. A lot of movement comes out of the body instead of just the arms. Most beginners try to get too much power from the arms instead of the body. This takes more energy and produces less power.
-Cross: This is attacking the opponent with the left hand.
-Uppercut: this is an upward movement that can hit the opponent.
If one of the contestants hits another one, they receive points for it. There are offensive and defensive moves and boxers have to be able to read the other person to see what they should do. Boxing often gets a bad rap because people sometimes do it in the streets but it is a very advanced sport. You have to be able to deal with a lot of pressure and keep going when it is though. The best boxers are great at defending and finding weak points in the defense of the other athlete.
Boxers wear gloves and sometimes headgear. They also wear a shirt and a short. During a match, they can also wear light shoes that provide them some stability. They have to be agile so that they can move around in the ring.
The boxers have to stay in the boxing ring. They can lean against the cords of the ring but can’t go out of it. The referee makes sure that the athletes stay within the agreed bounds.
Boxing is also very spectacular as it can change rapidly. In one moment one boxer can be winning, in the next moment, it can all be over because this person got hit hard. Boxing is an individual sport so there are no team members to blame when you lose. Most boxers have a lot of trainers though so that they can perfect their technique. Boxers often repeat the same drills over and over again until they are very good at them. During sparring rounds (these are matches without a referee), boxers try different moves to see how they perform during competition.
There are different classes in boxing and the weight of a boxer has a big impact on which class they are in. These range from lightweights to heavyweights. This keeps things fair as stronger boxers can hit harder.
Is Boxing a sport? Is it in the Olympics?
If we look back at our previous definition, we can see that a sport needs the following 3 parts:
1/ A physical activity
2/ That requires a skill
3/ And has a competitive element
Boxing is clearly physical and very intense activity. It requires a lot of skill as athletes spend a lot of time perfecting every move. For this reason, it also fulfills the second requirement.
Given that boxers can get points during a match, we can state that there is a competitive element. There are tournaments and rankings and it is possible to become a champion. These tournaments range from local ones to global events. There are clear rules and a referee can interfere if someone doesn’t follow them.
Boxing has a rich history and has been part of the (modern) Olympics since the beginning. It has been in the program for more than 100 years. The IOC organizes this event and boxing has been an important element of it. The United States has won the most medals in this sport, followed by Cuba and Great Britain.
Based on this, we can state that boxing is a sport as it fulfills all the requirements. Even in the most narrow definitions of sport, boxing can be considered a sport.
To conclude, we can state that boxing is a sport. It has a rich history and we can expect that people will perform it for centuries to come. This sport is also part of the Olympics and people really enjoy watching it. It is a very intense sport that combines technique and endurance in one intense activity. Matches can change very fast as one hit can change the winner. There is a referee that makes sure that everyone follows the rules.
