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83-399: The title was originally scheduled to be defended exclusively at NEVER events, but this plan was quickly changed and since its foundation, the title has been defended on the undercards of NJPW events. The original concept of having younger workers wrestle for the title has also not been realized with the first seven holders of the title having been in their thirties or forties. Instead, through

166-536: A "dream fight" and multiple title defenses. Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art . Taking place in a boxing ring , it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as protective gloves , hand wraps , and mouthguards – throwing punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time. Although the term "boxing" is commonly attributed to western boxing, in which only fists are involved, it has developed in different ways in different geographical areas and cultures of

249-442: A 24-foot-square or similar ring. Rounds were three minutes with one-minute rest intervals between rounds. Each fighter was given a ten-second count if he was knocked down, and wrestling was banned. The introduction of gloves of "fair-size" also changed the nature of the bouts. An average pair of boxing gloves resembles a bloated pair of mittens and are laced up around the wrists. The gloves can be used to block an opponent's blows. As

332-402: A TKO. A TKO is considered a knockout in a fighter's record. A "standing eight" count rule may also be in effect. This gives the referee the right to step in and administer a count of eight to a fighter that the referee feels may be in danger, even if no knockdown has taken place. After counting the referee will observe the fighter, and decide if the fighter is fit to continue. For scoring purposes,

415-669: A bare-knuckle fight was an assault occasioning actual bodily harm , despite the consent of the participants. This marked the end of widespread public bare-knuckle contests in England. The first world heavyweight champion under the Queensberry Rules was "Gentleman Jim" Corbett , who defeated John L. Sullivan in 1892 at the Pelican Athletic Club in New Orleans . The first instance of film censorship in

498-662: A boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced. Amateur bouts which end this way may be noted as "RSC" (referee stopped contest) with notations for an outclassed opponent (RSCO), outscored opponent (RSCOS), injury (RSCI) or head injury (RSCH). Professional bouts are usually much longer than amateur bouts, typically ranging from ten to twelve rounds, though four-round fights are common for less experienced fighters or club fighters. There are also some two- and three-round professional bouts, especially in Australia. Through

581-519: A fighter lands a punch that opens a cut on the opponent, and the opponent is later deemed not fit to continue by a doctor because of the cut. For this reason, fighters often employ cutmen , whose job is to treat cuts between rounds so that the boxer is able to continue despite the cut. If a boxer simply quits fighting, or if his corner stops the fight, then the winning boxer is also awarded a technical knockout victory. In contrast with amateur boxing, professional male boxers have to be bare-chested. "Style"

664-503: A knee injury. Much like regular NEVER events, the tournament also featured wrestlers not signed to New Japan; freelancer Daisuke Sasaki , Hiro Tonai, Kengo Mashimo , Ryuichi Sekine , Shiori Asahi and Taishi Takizawa from Kaientai Dojo , and Masato Tanaka from Pro Wrestling Zero1 . In the final of the tournament, Tanaka, the 39-year-old, who, despite officially being affiliated with Pro Wrestling Zero1, had worked for NJPW regularly since August 2009, defeated Karl Anderson to become

747-516: A lead-up towards the centrepiece tournaments, such as physical disability rugby league , masters (over 35, typically retired professional players), university , police teams, and armed forces teams. The opening act is a similar concept in non-sports entertainment. A main event usually takes place as the final match of a title-match-system sporting event. The term occurs primarily with reference to combat sports such as boxing, professional wrestling and mixed martial arts . The main event, generally

830-643: A man while down, holding the ropes, and using resin, stones or hard objects in the hands, and biting. In 1867, the Marquess of Queensberry rules were drafted by John Chambers for amateur championships held at Lillie Bridge in London for lightweights , middleweights and heavyweights . The rules were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensberry , whose name has always been associated with them. There were twelve rules in all, and they specified that fights should be "a fair stand-up boxing match" in

913-520: A match will personally score the match, and post their scores as an independent sentence in their report. Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, boxing bouts were motivated by money, as the fighters competed for prize money, promoters controlled the gate, and spectators bet on the result. The modern Olympic movement revived interest in amateur sports, and amateur boxing became an Olympic sport in 1908. In their current form, Olympic and other amateur bouts are typically limited to three or four rounds, scoring

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996-445: A multibillion-dollar commercial enterprise. A majority of young talent still comes from poverty-stricken areas around the world. Places like Mexico, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe prove to be filled with young aspiring athletes who wish to become the future of boxing. Even in the U.S., places like the inner cities of New York, and Chicago have given rise to promising young talent. According to Rubin, "boxing lost its appeal with

1079-460: A point scoring system that measures the number of clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Bouts consist of three rounds of three minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and three rounds of three minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds. Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip or circle across

1162-403: A result of the opponent's punch and not a slip, as determined by the referee, the referee begins counting until the fighter returns to their feet and can continue. Some jurisdictions require the referee to count to eight regardless of if the fighter gets up before. Should the referee count to ten, then the knocked-down boxer is ruled "knocked out" (whether unconscious or not) and the other boxer

1245-402: A result of their introduction, bouts became longer and more strategic with greater importance attached to defensive maneuvers such as slipping, bobbing, countering and angling. Because less defensive emphasis was placed on the use of the forearms and more on the gloves, the classical forearms outwards, torso leaning back stance of the bare knuckle boxer was modified to a more modern stance in which

1328-420: A standing eight count is treated as a knockdown. In general, boxers are prohibited from hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, pushing, biting, or spitting. The boxer's shorts are raised so the opponent is not allowed to hit to the groin area with intent to cause pain or injury. Failure to abide by the former may result in a foul. They also are prohibited from kicking, head-butting, or hitting with any part of

1411-498: A system of headbutting, punching, eye-gouging, chokes, and hard throws, not recognized in boxing today. The first boxing rules, called the Broughton Rules , were introduced by champion Jack Broughton in 1743 to protect fighters in the ring where deaths sometimes occurred. Under these rules, if a man went down and could not continue after a count of 30 seconds, the fight was over. Hitting a downed fighter and grasping below

1494-450: A tendency to dominate. The style of boxing practiced typically featured an advanced left leg stance, with the left arm semi-extended as a guard, in addition to being used for striking, and with the right arm drawn back ready to strike. It was the head of the opponent which was primarily targeted, and there is little evidence to suggest that targeting the body or the use of kicks was common, in which it resembled modern western boxing. Boxing

1577-528: Is computed by points based on the number of clean blows landed, regardless of impact, and fighters wear protective headgear, reducing the number of injuries, knockdowns, and knockouts. Currently scoring blows in amateur boxing are subjectively counted by ringside judges, but the Australian Institute for Sport has demonstrated a prototype of an Automated Boxing Scoring System , which introduces scoring objectivity, improves safety, and arguably makes

1660-534: Is from Egypt and Sumer, both from the third millennia, and can be seen in Sumerian carvings from the third and second millennia BC. The earliest evidence of boxing rules dates back to Ancient Greece , where boxing was established as an Olympic game in 688 BC. Boxing evolved from 16th- and 18th-century prizefights, largely in Great Britain, to the forerunner of modern boxing in the mid-19th century with

1743-415: Is knocked down, the other boxer must immediately cease fighting and move to the furthest neutral corner of the ring until the referee has either ruled a knockout or called for the fight to continue. Violations of these rules may be ruled "fouls" by the referee, who may issue warnings, deduct points, or disqualify an offending boxer, causing an automatic loss, depending on the seriousness and intentionality of

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1826-666: Is no support race on the day of the feature (as in the case of the Cup Series, where all support races are held on days leading to the feature, although it can be run on feature day if inclement weather forces such). Since 2008, the Rugby League World Cup has been aggregated with the World Cup competitions for women's and wheelchair rugby league in an arrangement known as the " Festival of World Cups ". The festival includes support tournaments that are held as

1909-414: Is often defined as the strategic approach a fighter takes during a bout. No two fighters' styles are alike, as each is determined by that individual's physical and mental attributes. Three main styles exist in boxing: outside fighter ("boxer"), brawler (or "slugger"), and inside fighter ("swarmer"). These styles may be divided into several special subgroups, such as counter puncher, etc. The main philosophy of

1992-907: Is related to other forms of martial arts found in other parts of the Indian cultural sphere including Muay Thai in Thailand, Muay Lao in Laos, Pradal Serey in Cambodia and Lethwei in Myanmar. In Ancient Greece boxing was a well developed sport called pygmachia , and enjoyed consistent popularity. In Olympic terms, it was first introduced in the 23rd Olympiad , 688 BC. The boxers would wind leather thongs around their hands in order to protect them. There were no rounds and boxers fought until one of them acknowledged defeat or could not continue. Weight categories were not used, which meant heavier fighters had

2075-417: Is ruled the winner by knockout (KO). A "technical knock-out" (TKO) is possible as well, and is ruled by the referee, fight doctor, or a fighter's corner if a fighter is unable to safely continue to fight, based upon injuries or being judged unable to effectively defend themselves. Many jurisdictions and sanctioning agencies also have a "three-knockdown rule", in which three knockdowns in a given round result in

2158-817: The Rig Veda ( c. 1500–1000 BCE) and Ramayana ( c. 700–400 BCE). The Mahabharata describes two combatants boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks, finger strikes, knee strikes and headbutts during the time of King Virata . Duels ( niyuddham ) were often fought to the death. During the period of the Western Satraps , the ruler Rudradaman —in addition to being well-versed in "the great sciences" which included Indian classical music , Sanskrit grammar , and logic—was said to be an excellent horseman, charioteer, elephant rider, swordsman and boxer. The Gurbilas Shemi , an 18th-century Sikh text, gives numerous references to musti-yuddha . The martial art

2241-681: The Formula One World Championships , although the latter is considered to be a feeder series (for young drivers who desire to make the final step to Formula One). The Indy Lights series supports the IndyCar Series , and the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series effectively support the top-tier NASCAR Cup Series . In some series (most notably on oval tracks), the support races take place on both practice and qualifying days, and there

2324-666: The IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship . The title's openweight nature means that both heavyweight and junior heavyweight wrestlers are eligible to challenge for it. On October 5, 2012, over two years after the founding of NEVER , New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced the creation of the project's first championship, the NEVER Openweight Championship. The title

2407-650: The Olympic Games and other tournaments sanctioned by AIBA . This was done in part to level the playing field and give all of the athletes the same opportunities government-sponsored boxers from socialist countries and post-Soviet republics have. However, professional organizations strongly opposed that decision. Amateur boxing may be found at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games , Asian Games , etc. In many other venues sanctioned by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing has

2490-472: The 1867 introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry Rules . Amateur boxing is both an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and is a standard fixture in most international games—it also has its world championships. Boxing is overseen by a referee over a series of one-to-three-minute intervals called "rounds". A winner can be resolved before the completion of the rounds when a referee deems an opponent incapable of continuing, disqualifies an opponent, or

2573-456: The American middle class, and most of who boxes in modern America come from the streets and are street fighters". The Marquess of Queensberry Rules have been the general rules governing modern boxing since their publication in 1867. A boxing match typically consists of a determined number of three-minute rounds, a total of up to 9 to 12 rounds with a minute spent between each round with

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2656-867: The Champions . Promotions outside the United States also run annual supercards. The two largest lucha libre promotions in Mexico, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), respectively run the CMLL Anniversary Show and Triplemanía . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) runs the January 4 Dome Show (branded since 2007 as Wrestle Kingdom) at the Tokyo Dome . In other sports, such as boxing and mixed martial arts, supercards occur more rarely. They usually involve

2739-455: The United States occurred in 1897 when several states banned the showing of prize fighting films from the state of Nevada, where it was legal at the time. Throughout the early twentieth century, boxers struggled to achieve legitimacy. They were aided by the influence of promoters like Tex Rickard and the popularity of great champions such as John L. Sullivan. The modern sport arose from illegal venues and outlawed prizefighting and has become

2822-637: The World. In global terms, "boxing" today is also a set of combat sports focused on striking , in which two opponents face each other in a fight using at least their fists, and possibly involving other actions, such as kicks , elbow strikes , knee strikes , and headbutts , depending on the rules. Some of these variants are the bare-knuckle boxing , kickboxing , Muay Thai , Lethwei , savate , and sanda . Boxing techniques have been incorporated into many martial arts , military systems , and other combat sports. Humans have engaged in hand-to-hand combat since

2905-500: The advanced level but not participating in a championship match. If an undercard match is a championship match (less popular weight class or regional championship), the undercard match is also twelve rounds, owing to regulations. In professional wrestling, undercard matches usually last for five to ten minutes: the audience does not have to wait too long for the main event and the promoters often have to fulfill contractual television agreements. Professional wrestling unofficially subdivides

2988-424: The arm other than the knuckles of a closed fist (including hitting with the elbow, shoulder or forearm, as well as with open gloves, the wrist, the inside, back or side of the hand). They are prohibited as well from hitting the back, back of the head or neck (called a "rabbit-punch") or the kidneys. They are prohibited from holding the ropes for support when punching, holding an opponent while punching, or ducking below

3071-400: The belt of their opponent (dropping below the waist of your opponent, no matter the distance between). If a "clinch" – a defensive move in which a boxer wraps their opponent's arms and holds on to create a pause – is broken by the referee, each fighter must take a full step back before punching again (alternatively, the referee may direct the fighters to "punch out" of the clinch). When a boxer

3154-654: The best boxing strategists due to their ability to control the pace of the fight and lead their opponent, methodically wearing him down and exhibiting more skill and finesse than a brawler. Out-fighters need reach, hand speed, reflexes, and footwork. Notable out-fighters include Muhammad Ali , Larry Holmes , Joe Calzaghe , Wilfredo Gómez , Salvador Sánchez , Cecilia Brækhus , Gene Tunney , Ezzard Charles , Willie Pep , Meldrick Taylor , Ricardo "Finito" López , Floyd Mayweather Jr. , Roy Jones Jr. , Sugar Ray Leonard , Miguel Vázquez , Sergio "Maravilla" Martínez , Wladimir Klitschko and Guillermo Rigondeaux . This style

3237-426: The body, such as kicks and punches , as an act of human aggression , has existed across the world throughout human history , being a combat system as old as wrestling . However, in terms of sports competition , due to the lack of writing in the prehistoric times and the lack of references, it is not possible to determine rules of any kind of boxing in prehistory, and in ancient times only can be inferred from

3320-422: The boxers, based on punches and elbows that connect, defense, knockdowns, hugging and other, more subjective, measures. Because of the open-ended style of boxing judging, many fights have controversial results, in which one or both fighters believe they have been "robbed" or unfairly denied a victory. Each fighter has an assigned corner of the ring, where their coach, as well as one or more "seconds" may administer to

3403-400: The contestants did not have heavy leather gloves and wristwraps to protect their hands, they used different punching technique to preserve their hands because the head was a common target to hit full out. Almost all period manuals have powerful straight punches with the whole body behind them to the face (including forehead) as the basic blows. The British sportswriter Pierce Egan coined

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3486-608: The day prior to the PPV, and typically shared the same venue (or, at the very least, host city) as the corresponding main roster event. In auto racing, support races occur not just before the feature race, they occur on qualifying day where attendances are typically low and after the completion of the feature race, purposely to lessen the effect of traffic congestion outside venues common in major championship rounds, as spectators make their way home. Examples of notable support races include Porsche Supercup and FIA Formula 2 , both supporting

3569-670: The earliest days of human history. The origins of boxing in any of its forms as a sport remain uncertain, but some sources suggest that it has prehistoric roots in what is now Ethiopia , emerging as early as the sixth millennium BC. It is believed that when the Egyptians invaded Nubia , they adopted boxing from the local populace, subsequently popularizing it in Egypt. From there, the sport of boxing spread to various regions, including Greece , eastward to Mesopotamia , and northward to Rome . The earliest visual evidence of any type of boxing

3652-523: The early 20th century, it was common for fights to have unlimited rounds, ending only when one fighter quit, benefiting high-energy fighters like Jack Dempsey . Fifteen rounds remained the internationally recognized limit for championship fights for most of the 20th century until the early 1980s , when the death of boxer Kim Duk-koo eventually prompted the World Boxing Council and other organizations sanctioning professional boxing to reduce

3735-469: The end in succession. This can be billed as a "double main event" or "double-header" or (rarely) as a "triple main event" or "triple-header". Advertising for sporting bouts focuses primarily on their main events. A supercard consists of a title match combat sport event which comprises multiple high-level matches and/or special attractions. Promoters advertise supercards heavily, and tickets typically cost more than at standard-card events. Supercards serve as

3818-674: The few intact sources and references to the sport. The origin of the sport of boxing is unknown, however according to some sources boxing in any of its forms has prehistoric origins in present-day Ethiopia , where it appeared in the sixth millennium BC. When the Egyptians invaded Nubia they learned the art of boxing from the local population, and they took the sport to Egypt where it became popular. From Egypt, boxing spread to other countries including Greece , eastward to Mesopotamia, and northward to Rome. The earliest visual evidence of any type of boxing comes from Egypt and Sumer both from

3901-406: The fight is ruled the winner. With three judges, unanimous and split decisions are possible, as are draws. A boxer may win the bout before a decision is reached through a knock-out; such bouts are said to have ended "inside the distance". If a fighter is knocked down during the fight, determined by whether the boxer touches the canvas floor of the ring with any part of their body other than the feet as

3984-478: The fight to go to a decision if enough rounds (typically four or more, or at least three in a four-round fight) have passed. Unheard of in the modern era, but common during the early 20th Century in North America, a "newspaper decision (NWS)" might be made after a no decision bout had ended. A "no decision" bout occurred when, by law or by pre-arrangement of the fighters, if both boxers were still standing at

4067-545: The fight's conclusion and there was no knockout, no official decision was rendered and neither boxer was declared the winner. But this did not prevent the pool of ringside newspaper reporters from declaring a consensus result among themselves and printing a newspaper decision in their publications. Officially, however, a "no decision" bout resulted in neither boxer winning or losing. Boxing historians sometimes use these unofficial newspaper decisions in compiling fight records for illustrative purposes only. Often, media outlets covering

4150-407: The fighter at the beginning of the fight and between rounds. Each boxer enters into the ring from their assigned corners at the beginning of each round and must cease fighting and return to their corner at the signalled end of each round. A bout in which the predetermined number of rounds passes is decided by the judges, and is said to "go the distance". The fighter with the higher score at the end of

4233-403: The fighters resting in their assigned corners and receiving advice and attention from their coach and staff. The fight is controlled by a referee who works within the ring to judge and control the conduct of the fighters, rule on their ability to fight safely, count knocked-down fighters, and rule on fouls. Up to three judges are typically present at ringside to score the bout and assign points to

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4316-408: The fighters weigh under 165 pounds (75 kg), thus allowing them to wear ten ounce gloves. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands cleanly on the head or torso with sufficient force is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. A belt worn over the torso represents

4399-404: The focal point of professional wrestling promotions and can function as a primary source of revenue for such promotions. Mainstream American pro wrestling holds supercards at least annually and broadcasts them on pay-per-view (PPV) television. The largest company, WWE , runs PPV events every month. Alternatively the second-largest, All Elite Wrestling (AEW) initially ran 4 annual PPV's over

4482-400: The former to fight for the prize, which was accepted by the latter. Proper sidesmen were chosen, and every matter conducted in form. After several knock-down blows on both sides, the battle ended in favour of Mary Farmery. The London Prize Ring Rules introduced measures that remain in effect for professional boxing to this day, such as outlawing butting, gouging, scratching, kicking, hitting

4565-409: The foul. An intentional foul that causes injury that prevents a fight from continuing usually causes the boxer who committed it to be disqualified. A fighter who suffers an accidental low-blow may be given up to five minutes to recover, after which they may be ruled knocked out if they are unable to continue. Accidental fouls that cause injury ending a bout may lead to a "no contest" result, or else cause

4648-436: The headline or "main event" of a particular boxing , professional wrestling , horse racing, or other sports event. Typically, promoters intend the undercard to provide fans with an opportunity to see up-and-coming fighters or fighters not so well known and popular as their counterparts in the main event. The undercard also ensures that if the main event ends quickly fans will still feel that they received sufficient value for

4731-427: The inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion. Though the title was originally designed to be defended at NEVER events, NJPW has not held a single NEVER event since the championship tournament. There have been 45 reigns shared among 22 wrestlers with one vacancy . Masato Tanaka was the first champion in the title's history. He also holds the record for the longest reign at 314 days during his only reign. Tomohiro Ishii has

4814-400: The knuckle. There are cases however, where white ended gloves are not required but any solid color may be worn. The white end is just a way to make it easier for judges to score clean hits. Each competitor must have their hands properly wrapped, pre-fight, for added protection on their hands and for added cushion under the gloves. Gloves worn by the fighters must be twelve ounces in weight unless

4897-562: The latter winning the prize. Early fighting had no written rules. There were no weight divisions or round limits, and no referee. In general, it was extremely chaotic. An early article on boxing was published in Nottingham in 1713, by Sir Thomas Parkyns, 2nd Baronet , a wrestling patron from Bunny, Nottinghamshire , who had practised the techniques he described. The article, a single page in his manual of wrestling and fencing, Progymnasmata: The inn-play, or Cornish-hugg wrestler , described

4980-497: The level of WrestleMania. With TNA's 2013 change to running only four PPVs a year, all four are now considered supercards: Genesis (not a supercard before 2013), Lockdown , Slammiversary , and Bound for Glory . All four events were first held in 2005, and all have taken place annually since then except for Genesis, which was not held in 2008. Examples of non-pay-per-view supercards include Saturday Night's Main Event and Clash of

5063-486: The likes of Katsuyori Shibata , Togi Makabe , and Tomohiro Ishii , the NEVER Openweight Championship became known for its "gritty" title matches and "hard hitting" style. Though named an "openweight" championship, NJPW has also categorized the title as a heavyweight title. The title forms what has unofficially been called the "New Japan Triple Crown " (新日本トリプルクラウン, Shin Nihon Toripuru Kuraun ) along with

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5146-400: The limit to twelve rounds. Headgear is not permitted in professional bouts, and boxers are generally allowed to take much more damage before a fight is halted. At any time, the referee may stop the contest if he believes that one participant cannot defend himself due to injury. In that case, the other participant is awarded a technical knockout win. A technical knockout would also be awarded if

5229-405: The lower limit of punches – any boxer repeatedly landing low blows below the belt is disqualified. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. If this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized or ultimately disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if

5312-432: The most prestigious match on the card, has the most promotion behind it. The match commonly involves a contest for a top championship , but may feature another special attraction. The headliner is a similar concept in non-sports entertainment. Sometimes, multiple matches of equally high importance take place on a card, occasionally at intervals throughout (to sustain spectator interest for its duration), but generally at

5395-501: The most reigns with six. Michael Elgin 's only reign of 8 days is the shortest in the title's history. Minoru Suzuki is the oldest champion when he won it at 52 years old, while Will Ospreay is the youngest champion at 25 years old. The current champion is Shingo Takagi , who is in his fifth reign. He defeated Henare at Destruction in Kobe on September 29, 2024 in Kobe, Japan to win

5478-417: The opponent resigns . When the fight reaches the end of its final round with both opponents still standing, the judges' scorecards determine the victor. In case both fighters gain equal scores from the judges, a professional bout is considered a draw . In Olympic boxing, because a winner must be declared, judges award the contest to one fighter on technical criteria. Hitting with different extremities of

5561-401: The price of their admission. In boxing , undercard matches usually last between four and eight rounds, depending on the experience of the boxers in those matches (entry-level boxers, often making professional debuts, have four rounds, while boxers at the intermediate level are given between six and eight rounds), with some undercards on major championship cards being ten rounds if the boxer is at

5644-679: The sport more interesting to spectators. Professional boxing remains by far the most popular form of the sport globally, though amateur boxing is dominant in Cuba and some former Soviet republics. For most fighters, an amateur career, especially at the Olympics, serves to develop skills and gain experience in preparation for a professional career. Western boxers typically participate in one Olympics and then turn pro, while Cubans and boxers from other socialist countries have an opportunity to collect multiple medals. In 2016, professional boxers were admitted in

5727-636: The styles is, that each style has an advantage over one, but disadvantage over the other one. It follows the rock paper scissors scenario – boxer beats brawler, brawler beats swarmer, and swarmer beats boxer. A classic "boxer" or stylist (also known as an "out-fighter") seeks to maintain distance between himself and his opponent, fighting with faster, longer range punches, most notably the jab, and gradually wearing his opponent down. Due to this reliance on weaker punches, out-fighters tend to win by point decisions rather than by knockout, though some out-fighters have notable knockout records. They are often regarded as

5810-469: The term "the sweet science" as an epithet for prizefighting – or more fully "the sweet science of bruising" as a description of England's bare-knuckle fight scene in the early nineteenth century. Boxing could also be used to settle disputes even by females. In 1790 in Waddington, Lincolnshire Mary Farmery and Susanna Locker both laid claim to the affections of a young man; this produced a challenge from

5893-575: The third millennium BC. A relief sculpture from Egyptian Thebes ( c.  1350 BC ) shows both boxers and spectators. These early Middle-Eastern and Egyptian depictions showed contests where fighters were either bare-fisted or had a band supporting the wrist. The earliest evidence of use of gloves can be found in Minoan Crete ( c.  1500 –1400 BC). Various types of boxing existed in ancient India . The earliest references to musti-yuddha come from classical Vedic epics such as

5976-537: The title. Card (sports)#Undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card , according to the perceived importance of the matches. Promoters schedule matches to occur in ascending order of importance. The undercard, or preliminary matches (sometimes preliminary card), consists of preliminary bouts that occur before

6059-601: The torso is tilted forward and the hands are held closer to the face. Through the late nineteenth century, the martial art of boxing or prizefighting was primarily a sport of dubious legitimacy. Outlawed in England and much of the United States, prizefights were often held at gambling venues and broken up by police. Brawling and wrestling tactics continued, and riots at prizefights were common occurrences. Still, throughout this period, there arose some notable bare knuckle champions who developed fairly sophisticated fighting tactics. The English case of R v. Coney in 1882 found that

6142-498: The undercard into uppercard, midcard and lower card matches, which roughly correlate to the fame and quality of performance of the wrestlers involved. WWE's NXT brand (which was originally positioned as a feeder for its main Raw and SmackDown rosters) previously held events in its " TakeOver " series as support for its flagship pay-per-views ( Royal Rumble , WrestleMania , SummerSlam , and Survivor Series ); these events were held on

6225-408: The waist were prohibited. Broughton encouraged the use of "mufflers", a form of padded bandage or mitten, to be used in "jousting" or sparring sessions in training, and in exhibition matches. These rules did allow the fighters an advantage not enjoyed by today's boxers; they permitted the fighter to drop to one knee to end the round and begin the 30-second count at any time. Thus a fighter realizing he

6308-402: The wearing of weapons became common once again and interest in fighting with the fists waned. However, there are detailed records of various fist-fighting sports that were maintained in different cities and provinces of Italy between the 12th and 17th centuries. There was also a sport in ancient Rus called kulachniy boy or 'fist fighting'. As the wearing of swords became less common, there

6391-523: The word "boxing" first came to be used. This earliest form of modern boxing was very different. Contests in Mr. Figg's time, in addition to fist fighting, also contained fencing and cudgeling. On 6 January 1681, the first recorded boxing match took place in Britain when Christopher Monck , 2nd Duke of Albemarle (and later Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica ), engineered a bout between his butler and his butcher with

6474-554: The year ( Revolution , Double or Nothing , All Out and Full Gear ), though added Forbidden Door as a fifth annual PPV in 2022 in collaboration with Japanese company New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Elsewhere, Impact Wrestling (formally TNA), formerly ran monthly PPVs, but now only runs four a year. Wrestling supercards often recur annually; WWE's WrestleMania , arguably the most famous of these, has run since 1985. WWE runs three other supercards per year ( Royal Rumble , SummerSlam and Survivor Series ), but does not promote these at

6557-549: Was a popular spectator sport in Ancient Rome . Fighters protected their knuckles with leather strips wrapped around their fists. Eventually harder leather was used and the strips became a weapon. Metal studs were introduced to the strips to make the cestus . Fighting events were held at Roman amphitheatres . Records of boxing activity disappeared in the west after the fall of the Western Roman Empire when

6640-520: Was also used by fictional boxer Apollo Creed . A boxer-puncher is a well-rounded boxer who is able to fight at close range with a combination of technique and power, often with the ability to knock opponents out with a combination and in some instances a single shot. Their movement and tactics are similar to that of an out-fighter (although they are generally not as mobile as an out-fighter), but instead of winning by decision, they tend to wear their opponents down using combinations and then move in to score

6723-414: Was in trouble had an opportunity to recover. However, this was considered "unmanly" and was frequently disallowed by additional rules negotiated by the seconds of the boxers. In modern boxing, there is a three-minute limit to rounds (unlike the downed fighter ends the round rule). Intentionally going down in modern boxing will cause the recovering fighter to lose points in the scoring system. Furthermore, as

6806-433: Was originally created with the idea of using it to "elevate younger wrestlers". The first champion was to be determined in a sixteen-man single-elimination tournament , which was set to take place November 15 and 19, 2012. The title and the tournament were announced by New Japan president Naoki Sugabayashi and NEVER regular Tetsuya Naito , who was scheduled to enter the tournament, but was forced to pull out after suffering

6889-488: Was renewed interest in fencing with the fists. The sport later resurfaced in England during the early 16th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing , sometimes referred to as prizefighting . The first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight in England appeared in 1681 in the London Protestant Mercury , and the first English bare-knuckle champion was James Figg in 1719. This is also the time when

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