Are you a boxing enthusiast? Do you know of the right apparel and other protective gears to use just so you will not be harmed? You see, the boxing gloves are just one of them. As you watch the match via the television, you will definitely see that the hands of the players are wrapped in gloves to restrain them from the occurrence of any injury. But did you know where the gloves originated from and how they came to use? This article is going to bring you back to the origins of this protective armament.
Looking Back to the Old Times
Some 3,000 years ago, the Greeks were also fond of fighting against their opponents. To protect themselves, they settled with wrapping their hands in leather strips. They thought that doing so would secure their hands as they engaged in the fighting tournaments, wars, and boxing fights. The problem was of course, those leather strips didn’t have pads that will provide the needed protection.
The Romans took after the Greeks in picking up boxing as a kind of entertainment as well as a sport. In fact, they turned it into a more life threatening event when the gladiators started to get themselves involved. Yes, they still made use of the leather strips only that they were more daring. They utilized the spikes and metal studs after they have realized that the event in the gladiator empire was more dangerous. Hence, the fighters often ended up with scars, injuries, other painful effects, and for the worst part, there were those who ended up losing their lives.
It was in the year 30 BC when the sport was declared illegal by the Romans in all of their provinces and cities. The banning of which then resulted to the Western civilization.
However, boxing re-emerged in the late 1600s up to the 1700s. It concentrated on boned and knuckled fighting but which never lasted for a long time. Thus, the concept of boxing gloves came around with all the padding for safety purposes.
The Protective Gear
It is necessary to stir away from the misnomer that the boxing gloves were designed to shield the person who has been hit. The rationale behind it is because the bones in the hands are too small and fragile. Thus, the pads are meant to protect the boxer himself from the attacks that he is going to make. At the same time, the opponent has to wear the same protective gear to protect himself as well. After all, this is a kind of sport which can never materialize without fighting against an opponent.
Remembering the Champions
There are several icons to remember. One of them was Jack Broughton who emerged as the very first British boxing champ in the early phase of 1700s. In fact, he is regarded to be the one who invented the modernized gloves. In the past, several boxers got terribly hurt and some even died. The communities and handlers then decided to apply the rules and regulations which were all geared towards protecting the boxers.
On the other hand, it was in the year 1866 when John Graham Chambers published the very popular Queensbury Rules in London. Padding usage was one of the principal rules so the boxing gloves were definitely put to use. Moreover, the 20th century started to promote the Queensbury Rules which applied to all places that held boxing.
