Boxing's Brutal Legacy.

In the 1900s boxing, or prizefighting, still held much of its nineteenth-century character. For much of the century pugilists had fought under the London, or Broughton, Rules, with bare fists, battering each other through endless rounds until only one combatant remained standing. Offended by the sport's brutality and its association with blood sports such as cockfighting, as well as crime, gambling, drinking, and prostitution, Victorian society instituted strict prohibitions against it. Although illegal, prizefights were held in back rooms of saloons, on secluded riverboats, and in isolated frontier towns. In 1890 New Orleans legalized prizefighting under the rules formulated in 1867 by the marquess of Queensbury, an English aristocrat and sportsman. Aimed at reducing boxing's brutality, these rules required the use of gloves, prohibited wrestling holds, limited rounds to three minutes, and provided for ten-second knockouts. In 1892 New Orleans held the first heavyweight championship...