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Amateur Boxing - The First Step To Become A Champ

Author: John Hogan
Date Posted: March 21, 2007

A world champion boxer did not attain his title overnight. He passed through different stages of boxing to become a professional boxer that qualifies to fight internationally. Although most boxers have innate talents of the sport, it is important to understand the basics before competing with the real deal.

Amateur boxing allows younger men and women to explore the world of boxing not only to become a professional boxer, but also to develop confidence, discipline and focus that every young person should build up. Amateur boxing teaches the fundamentals of the sport, such as basic defense, proper stance, good balance and offensive techniques while conditioning and training the arms, legs and body to fit a boxing match.

If young boxers choose to participate in amateur boxing, parents should not worry because the Amateur Boxing Association of England has implemented various safety measures and different scoring systems, rules, regulations and safety guidelines for younger athletes to prevent severe injuries caused by hard beating.

Rules And Scoring Of Amateur Boxing

A young boxer aged twelve to sixteen can train or compete with other children of the same age in amateur fights. For all young boxers that will participate in local fights, the games will fall under the jurisdiction of the local sports amateur body or the Amateur Boxing Association of England. On the other hand, international boxing matches will be under the International Amateur Boxing Association.

Since amateur boxing associations protect younger boxers, specific rules for amateurs have been pre-set for all matches, regardless of local or international bouts. Boxers are assigned with either blue or red strips. Both boxers should participate in the match by wearing protective headgear. The gloves of young boxers should weigh ten ounces with a white strip on the central hitting area, covering the knuckles.

Compared to professional boxing that uses knockout blows for scoring, the winner of an match is determined by point scoring. Most bouts are fast and actions of boxers are furious because the competitors are limited to only four 2-minute rounds, instead of the standard 12-round matches for professional boxing.

The winner of a boxing match is the competitor with the highest points, unless the referee decides to stop the bout before the final bell. If the points of both young boxers are the same, the best score and worst score given to each boxer by the five judges is deducted from the total score. The winner will be whoever has the most points from the other three judges.

The ABA Golden Gloves

The first “Schoolboy Championships” was held around February of 1920 because of resistance within UK boxing. Meaning, even boxing matches held for secondary school children experienced some kind of restrictions. With the Schoolboy Championships, amateur boxing are divided into juniors and seniors’ weights. The second Championships were also held in December of the same year.

When the London Schools ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) was formed in 1922, the Schools Amateur Boxing Association followed around 1946. When the ABA and ABA county associations met in July 16, 1946, they decided that the annual Schoolboy Championships continued under the guidance of the Schools ABA.

The Schools ABA focused on promoting the development of young boxers, providing guidance of techniques, judging and proper conduct during bouts, improving facilities for young boxers in various schools and arranging the annual “Schoolboy Championships”.

In 2004, the annual championships were returned under the jurisdiction of the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE). With the change of management, the age range was also reduced by allowing 15-year-olds move on to Junior ABA Championships. Due to the changes brought to the yearly championships, the “Schoolboy Championships” was also re-launched as “The Golden Gloves”, which continue to held annual competitions for young boxers.

About The Author

For UK boxing news, views and reviews visit Amateur Boxing Forum. 4 nations updates from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland plus details on the new in-print magazine Amateur Boxing Forum.

Article Source: JKD Street Combat - online collection of boxing articles.

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