Thursday, December 14, 2000
Why is it called a boxing ring?
By
ESPN The Magazine
Shilpa Bakre, media services director, USA Boxing: As
opposed to a boxing
square? Precisely. That's a very good question. We aim to please. I have
absolutely no idea. Alas. But let me give you some phone numbers. Try the
IBF. 'Kay. Disembodied phone company voice: We're sorry, your call cannot
be
completed as dialed ... Hmmm. Bakre: Or the WBO. Answering Machine: Hi
there, this is Nick's house. If you'd... Bakre: How about the WBA?
Receptionist, La Asociación Mundial
de Boxeo, Venezuela: ¡Hola! AMB. Buenos
días. ¿Habla inglés? No.
Qué pena. Bakre: Try the NABF.
Sam Macias, president,
North American Boxing Federation: That's a very good
question. So I'm told. I have no idea. You're not alone, Sammy. Nigel
Collins, editor-in-chief, Ring Magazine: It's just a guess, so I wouldn't
want to be quoted. Tough. Before they had ropes, spectators would naturally
form a ring around the fighters. Naturally. But people were always invading
the circle. They had guys with whips and clubs to beat back the crowd. How
sporting. The ropes weren't meant
to keep the boxers in so much as to keep the
fans out. Ah, bloodlust.
Jeff Brophy, researcher, International Boxing Hall of
Fame: According to The
Encyclopedia of Boxing, by Gilbert Odd, the term goes back to bare-knuckle
days. Bring it on! Spectators held a circle of ropes around the fighters,
but they were always crowding in on the action. Kill! Kill! Kill!
Eventually, they used stakes to hold the ropes, forming a square. The
squared circle! Exactly. Incidentally, in early prize fights, they'd hang a
purse from
one of the stakes. Oh, that's good!
I thought you'd like that one.
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