Ref stands between two boxers in the ring

Boxing dates back thousands of years, with early forms practiced in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome It became an Olympic sport in ancient Greece in 688 BC, where fighters competed with leather straps wrapped around their hands Modern boxing began taking shape in England during the 17th and 18th centuries, initially as bare-knuckle fighting. The introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules in 1867 established gloves, timed rounds and many of the rules still used today.