Veda #27 : Square-ing

Day 27
"Why they called the boxing arena with "boxing ring" although it was square?"

Square area, 2 men, 1 winner. You've probably known this sport, yes it's boxing. This sport is about survival of the fittest and of course strategy, to beat down the opponent before being beaten down. Talk about boxing, let's set an eye to the arena, the ring, that actually had an interesting fact. Boxing ring is often referred to by many as the only circle in the world that is square. Why don’t they just call it boxing square, boxing stage or boxing something?

The answer is that “ring” was first applied not to the boxing area but to the spectators who formed a ring around the combatants. The first boxing ring was actually round. The earliest spectacle combat sports which have resemblance to the modern day boxing were actually played on a round drawing on the ground. The purpose perhaps of drawing lines, as opposed to just freely fighting without any delimiters on the ground, is to keep the fighters in a single location. And because of that lines, the spectators formed a ring around the combatants.

The first public boxing matches took place in early 18th century England. These were bare-knuckled affairs with no time limits and no referees. Small arenas were built that featured rings demarcated by wooden barriers or heavy ropes. The winner was the last man standing.

The purpose of the ring became very clear. It was used as the starting point of the match where the two wrestlers met at the beginning of the round. Since the boxings eventually became a sport, the using of wooden barriers considered dangerous for the fighters, so square shaped boxing areas were introduced only in the year 1838 by the Pugilistic Society. It constructed with four posts mounted on all four corners of the structure, and each side of the boxing ring are four ropes arranged in parallel and attached to the boxing posts using a technique called turn buckle, to ensure the safety.