By José Sulaimán – The Millenary of Boxing – History says that during the era of the caveman, who we call today men, communicated by signals and voice noises, wore no clothes and later only minimal, without any artifacts of any nature, and their spent days went bye without objectives, except to be the chief of the tribe, eat and sleep with women – which is not very different from today. That was the time when human beings started fighting, but that life remains hidden in the mystery of time.
Boxing was discovered as a sport as having been started in Ethiopia where an engraved stone was found with two naked men confronting each other with their fists at some time around 8,000 years B.C. The history continues in Egypt where pictures of boxing men were found; later in Mesopotamia, around the area of Damask where a piece of worked bronze was found with two boxers, then jumps to Crete and Greece, where boxing was one of the four sports that started the Olympic games, and from there to Rome where boxers wore leather-covered, with steel on their fists, and used to fight to death at the approval of the Caesars. After those times, boxing remained in the dark during the years of the Middle Ages, to reappear around the 16th century in England, practiced only in Elite clubs, where the Prince of England himself used to be a boxing fan.
Boxing jumped at that time into the open, in fights with no control or supervision that made the English Government prohibit it, with boxing being moved away form the police in barns, fields, valleys with hills, where boxing fans stood while watching the fights, and even on ships boarded with special tickets and moved out to the shores far away of the reach of the police. The ring was only a square with one rope on four sides and fights had no limit – they lasted until one of the boxers refused to continue or could not get up after a knock down. The government approved them after the presentation of the first boxing rules of Jack Broughton, followed by the widely known Rules of the Marquis of Queensberry , whose name was used for prestige and respect, even when he was not a boxing man.
Boxing came to America via the exodus of the Anglo-Saxon and started at the ports in Boston, where sailors or those who knew how to use their hands started boxing to get money from spectators.
John L. Sullivan, my hero for all that I have read about him, became the first heavyweight champion of the world, losing the title when he was too old, in the first time that gloves were used, to “Gentleman” Jim Corbett, whose personality was represented by Errol Flynn in a very popular movie that was shown for decades. Sullivan retired and was presented at circuses and theaters where he made a million a year, with which at the time you could even buy the moon. They wore gloves with a weight of four ounces, which were changed by the WBC to the 10 ounces of today for the heavyweights..
In Mexico, boxing started around 1918 in the port of Tampico and other ports of the Gulf of Mexico, where the sailors came ashore and lived at bordellos until they spent every penny that they had. Boxing then was started with a ring only signaled by four chairs at the bordellos, with the sailors fighting each other, or against other men there, and used their caps to go around collecting money to continue getting drunk, until the day that they were carried to the ships on the day of their departure. In 1921, the first boxing commission was formed by the municipality to have some kind of order and care after many accidents had occurred.
This is a brief review of the sport of boxing that later produced boxing heroes like Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, J.C. Chavez, Marvin Hagler, Oscar de la Hoya, and recently Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Sergio Martínez, and Vitali Klitschko, to mention a few of the so many others who have made the world live with passion and enjoyment with the bravest of all sports through the years, when boxing became the friendly hand extended to those born in the humblest of beds, still opening the doors to new heroes of the rings, who will fill the vacancy of the idols of the past.
All of the members of the WBC and myself have been honored to have had our destiny push us into this glorious sport, which is the first ever born in the fifth evolution or our earth with the birth of mankind. It has been and it will ever be our commitment to give the very best of ourselves in the very best that we know to continue modestly serving the sport of our love, to leave the doors open for our future generations to continue it.
Thank you for reading my thoughts.
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POSTHUMOUS HOMAGE TO PRESIDENT ADOLFO LÓPEZ MATEOS, FOUNDER OF THE WBC
Adolfo López Mateos, the highly remembered President of México and founder of the World Boxing Council, will receive a posthumous homage at the 101st anniversary of his birth with the presentation of the first itinerant art mural at the Plaza Legislativa on November 6th coming.
The Mural shows the diverse accomplishments of the President, where you will notice a boxing glove due to his passion for boxing. He was a member of the amateur boxing team at the University of Mexico and later a founder of the World Boxing Council in attendance at the first world boxing congress in February, 1963.
As President of the WBC, I hope that my idol, López Mateos, from wherever he is in the other world, is proud of his creation the WBC, which has been a major part in the changing of an old act of legalized violence into the much humane and safe sport that boxing is today.
Camp’s Over, Williams Ready To Take Norton’s Title On The 21st Oct.
On Wednesday evening, at Johnny Eames’ TRAD TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, British Cruiserweight title challenger Leon Williams completed the final sparring session of his training camp, for next Friday’s highly anticipated showdown with current Champ Rob Norton at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.
Whilst it’s not unusual for other fighters to catch as much of a sparring session as possible, it is rare for a whole gym of top class fighters, that includes the likes of Frankie Gavin, Erick Ochieng, Billy Joe Saunders, Mitchell Balker etc, and trainers such as Jimmy Tibbs, Mark Tibbs and Bryan Lawrence to halt their training regimes in order to watch the ensuing battles, which in itself speaks volumes of the intensity and quality of the session.
As the bell rang to bring the final round to a finish, the suffocating air of tension that encompassed the gym was shattered by the sound of thirty or so pairs of hands erupting into enthusiastic applause for the sensational performance.
At the very same moment Williams’, as well as co-trainers Johnny Eames and Barry Smith’s, serious expressions broke into beaming smiles, as the knowledge that the job was done and they were well and truly ready dawned on them.
Once the round of congratulations came to an end Johnny Eames just couldn’t hide his contented smile as he said, “We’ve just finished the last twelve rounds of Leon Williams sparring.
He’s sparred with three different big southpaws, who all fought in the style of Rob Norton. To be honest he dusted everyone of them up.
He’s ready, now I can’t wait ‘til fight night, Leon can’t wait ‘til fight night.
I’m really confident and looking forward to the TKO having another British Champion in the house.”
Leon ‘Solid’ Williams versus Rob Norton for the British Cruiserweight Championship headlines the Francis and George Warren’s Queensberry Promotions event at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, and broadcast live on BoxNation (Sky Platform Ch. 456), on Friday the 21st October 2011.
Heading up the support card for this battle of the big boys will pitch Cromer, Norfolk’s Ryan Walsh against Melsham, Wiltshire’s Liam Richards for the vacant English Super Bantamweight title.
The stacked undercard also features the UK debut of unbeaten Irishman Dean ‘Irish Lightning’ Byrne, Penge’s unbeaten Welterweight Bradley Skeet,
Croydon Light Welter Danny Davis and the debut of Peckham Welterweight John Garton, all against yet to be named opponents.
Tickets, priced £40 (standard seated) and £60 (ringside) for Williams vs. Norton are available now, either direct from Leon Williams – tickets are also be available at the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA and on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com