The rules of the Amateur Boxing Association (founded 1884) contain the following provisions. “An amateur is one who has never competed for a money prize or staked bet with or against a professional for any prize, except with the express sanction of the A.B.A., and who has never taught, pursued or assisted in the practice of athletic exercises as a means of obtaining a livelihood.” The ring shall be roped and between 12 and 24 ft. square. No spikes shall be worn on shoes. Boxers are divided into the following classes by weight:—Bantam, not exceeding 8 st. 4 lb (116 lb); Feather, not exceeding 9 st. (126 lb); Light, not exceeding 10 st. (140 lb); Middle, not exceeding 11 st. 4 ℔ (158 lb); and Heavy, any weight above. There shall be two judges, a referee and a timekeeper. The votes of the judges decide the winner of a bout, unless they disagree, in which case the referee has the deciding vote. In case of doubt he may order an extra round of two minutes’ duration. Each match is for three rounds, the first two lasting three minutes and the third four, with one minute rest between the rounds. A competitor failing to come up at the call of time loses the match. When a competitor draws a bye he must box for a specified time with an opponent chosen by the judges. A competitor is allowed one assistant (second) only, and no advice or coaching during the progress of a round is permitted. Unless one competitor is unable to respond to the call of time, or is obliged to stop before the match is over, the judges decide the winner by points, which are for attack, comprising successful hits cleanly delivered, and defence, comprising guarding, slipping, ducking, counter-hitting and getting away in time to avoid a return. When the points are equal the decision is given in favour of the boxer who has done the most leading, i.e. has been the more aggressive. Fouls are hitting below the belt, kicking, hitting with the open hand, the side of the hand, the wrist, elbow or shoulder, wrestling or “roughing” on the ropes, i.e. unnecessary shouldering and jostling.
The boxing rules of the American Amateur Athletic Association differ slightly from the British. The ring is roped but must be from 16 to 24 ft. square. Gloves must not be worn more than 8 oz. in weight. The recognized classes by weight are: Bantam, 105 ℔ and under; Feather, 115 ℔ and under; Light, 135 lb and under; Welter, 145 ℔ and under; Middle, 158 ℔ and under; and Heavy, over 158 ℔ The rules for officials and rounds are identical with the British, except that only in final bouts does the last round last four minutes. Two “seconds” are allowed. The rules for points and fouls coincide with the British. The amateur rules are very strict, and any one who competes in a boxing contest of more than four rounds is suspended from membership in the Athletic Association.
Glossary of terms not mentioned above:—Break away, to get away from the adversary, usually a command from the referee when the men clinch. Break ground, retire diagonally to right or left. Catch-weight, any weight. Corners, the opposite angles of the square “ring,” in which the boxers rest between the rounds. Cross-counter, a blow in which the right or left arm crosses that of the adversary as he leads off; the arm is slightly curved to get round that of the opponent but is straightened at the moment of impact. Clinching, grappling after an exchange of blows; when breaking from a clinch one tries to pin the adversary’s hands in order to prevent his hitting at close quarters. Drawing an opponent, enticing him by leaving an apparent opening into making an attack for which a counter is prepared. Fiddling, forward and back movements of the arms at the beginning of a round, a part of sparring for an opening. Footwork, the manner in which a boxer uses his feet. In-fighting, boxing at very close quarters. Mark, the pit of the stomach. Side-step, springing quickly to one side to avoid a blow, the movement being usually followed up by a counter attack. Timing, a blow delivered on the enemy’s preparation of an attack of his own, but more quickly.
See Boxing, by R. Allanson Winn (Isthmian Library, London, 1897); Boxing, by Wm. Elder (Spalding’s Athletic Library, New York, 1902) (these two books are excellent for the technicalities of boxing). The article “Boxing,” by B. Jno. Angle and G.W. Barroll, in the Encyclopaedia of Sport; Boxing, by J.C. Trotter (Oval Series, London, 1896); Fencing, Boxing and Wrestling, in the Badminton Library (London, 1892).
French Boxing (la boxe française) dates from about 1830. It is more like the ancient Greek pankration (see [Pugilism]) than is British boxing, as not only striking with the fists, but also kicking with the feet, butting with the head and wrestling are allowed. It is a development of the old sport of savate, in which the feet, and not the hands, were used in attack. Lessons in savate, which was practised especially by roughs, were usually given in some low resort, and there were no respectable teachers. While Paris was restricted to savate, another sport, called chausson or jeu marseillais, was practised in the south of France, especially among the soldiers, in which blows of the fist as well as kicks were exchanged, and the kicks were given higher than in savate, in the stomach or even the face. It was an excellent exercise, but could hardly be reckoned a serious means of defence, for the high kicks usually fell short, and the upward blows of the fist could not be compared with the terrible sledge-hammer blows of the English boxers. Alexandre Dumas père says that Charles Lecour first conceived the idea of combining English boxing with savate. For this purpose he went to England, and took lessons of Adams and Smith, the London boxers. He then returned to Paris, about 1852, and opened a school to teach the sport since called la boxe française. Around him, and two provincial instructors who came to Paris about this time with similar ideas, there grew up a large number of sportsmen, who between 1845 and 1855 brought French boxing to its highest development. Among others who gave public exhibitions was Lecour’s brother Hubert, who although rather undersized, was quick as lightning, and had an English blow and a French kick that were truly terrible. Charles Ducros was another whose style of boxing, more in the English fashion, but with low kicks about his opponent’s shins, made a name for himself. Later came Vigneron, a “strong man,” whose style, though slow, was severe in its punishment. About 1856 the police interfered in these fights, and Lecour and Vigneron had to cease giving public exhibitions and devote themselves to teaching. Towards 1862 a new boxer, J. Charlemont, was not only very clever with his fists and feet, but an excellent teacher, and the author of a treatise on the art. Lecour, Vigneron and Charlemont may be said to have created la boxe française, which, for defence at equal weights, the French claim to be better than the English.
See L’Art de la boxe française et de la canne, by J. Charlemont (Paris, 1899); The French Method of the Noble Art of Self Defence, by Georges d’Amoric (London, 1898).
BOXWOOD, the wood obtained from the genus Buxus, the principal species being the well-known tree or shrub, B. sempervirens, the common box, in general use for borders of garden walks, ornamental parterres, &c. The other source of the ordinary boxwood of commerce is B. balearica, which yields the variety known as Turkey boxwood. The common box is grown throughout Great Britain (perhaps native in the chalk-hills of the south of England), in the southern part of the European continent generally, and extends through Persia into India, where it is found growing on the slopes of the western Himalayas. There has been much discussion as to whether it is a true native of Britain. Writing more than 200 years ago, John Ray, the author of the important Historia Plantarum, says, “The Box grows wild on Boxhill, hence the name; also at Boxwell, on the Cotteswold Hills in Gloucestershire, and at Boxley in Kent.... It grows plentifully on the chalk hills near Dunstable.” On the other hand the box is not wild in the Channel Islands, and in the north of France, Holland and Belgium is found mainly in hedgerows and near cultivation, and it may have been one of the many introductions owed to the Romans. Only a very small proportion of the wood suitable for industrial uses is now obtained in Great Britain. The box is a very slow-growing plant, adding not more than 1½ or 2 in. to its diameter in twenty years, and on an average attaining only a height of 16 ft., with a mean diameter of 10½ in. The leaves of this species are small, oval, leathery in texture and of a deep glossy green colour. B. balearica is a tree of considerable size, attaining to a height of 80 ft., with leaves three times larger than those of the common box. It is a native of the islands of the Mediterranean, and grows in Turkey, Asia Minor, and around the shores of the Black Sea, and is supposed to be the chief source of the boxwood which comes into European commerce by way of Constantinople. The wood of both species possesses a delicate yellow colour; it is very dense in structure and has a fine uniform grain, which has given it unique value for the purposes of the wood-engraver. A large amount is used in the manufacture of measuring rules, various mathematical instruments, flutes and other musical instruments, as well as for turning into many minor articles, and for inlaying, and it is a favourite wood for small carvings. The use of boxwood for turnery and musical instruments is mentioned by Pliny, Virgil and Ovid.
BOYACÁ, or Bojacá, an inland department of Colombia, bounded by the departments of Santander and Cundinamarca on the N., W. and S., and the republic of Venezuela on the E., and having an area of 33,321 sq. m., including the Casanare territory. Pop. (1899, estimate) 508,940. The department is very mountainous, heavily forested and rich in minerals. The famous Muso emerald mines are located in the western part of Boyacá. The capital, Tunja (pop. 1902, 10,000), is situated in the Eastern Cordilleras, 9054 ft. above sea-level, and has a cool, temperate climate, though only 5½° N. of the equator. It was an important place in colonial times, and occupies the site of one of the Indian towns of this region (Hunsa), which had acquired a considerable degree of civilization before the discovery of America. Other towns of note in the department are Chiquinquira (20,000), Moniquira (18,000), Sogamoso (10,787), and Boyacá (7000), where on the 7th of August 1819 Bolivar defeated the Spanish army and secured the independence of New Granada.