What is Olympic Style Boxing?
Olympic-style boxing is an incredibly fast sport and the scoring is centred on technique, exceptional levels of fitness and a great deal of technical skill is required.
It is important for the competitors to always remain calm and focussed as they step into the ring – there is no room for anger and aggression in a boxing bout.
Anyone who has ever tried their hand at sparring will tell you how hard it is to score points when your body is working that hard. Boxing has been an Olympic sport since 1904. In 1941, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) took responsibility for the sport as a world governing body. The Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) is responsible for the ultimate preparation of the elite athletes for Olympic Games
History of Olympics?
Boxing is often referred to as one of the oldest and most traditional of sports, its acceptance as an Olympic discipline can be traced back to the ancient Greeks in 688 BC. Onomastos of Smyrna was the very first recipient of a boxing gold medal at the Olympic Games. It is believed that the sport first originated in the Sumerian cities of ancient Egypt as well as in China as far back as the 3rd millennium BC.
Boxing or pugilism, as it is also known, has been depicted as the noble art. The first recorded boxing match was held in England in 1681 with the first bare-knuckle champion declared in 1719, but it was not until several years later, in 1743, that Jack Broughton developed the first set of rules. With the sport continuing to prosper, the ‘Broughton’s rules’ introduced a safer environment to protect the competitors. The London Prize Ring rules were then codified in 1838; defining details such as fouls as well as the size of the ring itself.
The amended rules, which included the duration of rounds, were published under the patronage of the Marquess of Queensbury in 1867. This is when what we know as modern boxing began.
Modern boxing was then introduced as an Olympic sport in St. Louis in 1904 at the III Olympiad. This first edition was divided into seven weight categories and the tournament witnessed a clean sweep of US victories. In 1912, the boxing tournament was cancelled for the Stockholm Games, due to former Swedish law at the time banning the sport. However, following World War I, the boxing tournament was once again reinstated at the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games in Belgium.
Traditionally, the boxers’ weights were measured in pounds but in 1948, the rules were amended and weights were measured in kilograms, in order to standardize the categories An incredible 41 countries have secured at least one Olympic title in boxing events between 1904 and 2008. The most successful boxing nations to date in the Games have been the United States of America, topping the medal table with 49 golds, Cuba with 34, Italy with 15, Great Britain on 16 with Hungary the remaining nation with double figures for gold medals with 10. To-date, Ireland has won 2 Gold Medals and 16 Olympic medals.
AIBA “Road To Rio 2016″ Qualification Guidelines for AOB, WSB and APB Boxers
The International Boxing Association (AIBA) have confirmed their qualification guidelines for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.