Competition | blandsboxingclub

Competitive Boxing

Amateur boxing emerged as a sport during the mid-to-late 19th century, partly as a result of the moral controversies surrounding professional prize-fighting. Originally lampooned as an effort by upper and middle-class gentlemen to co-opt a traditionally working class sport, the safer, "scientific" style of boxing found favour in schools, universities and in the armed forces, although the champions still usually came from among the urban poor.

Become An Olympic Boxer

Amateur boxing is practised at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations such as Boxing Ontario and Canadian Amateur Boxing Association. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring (based on number of clean punches landed) rather than physical power. Bouts comprise three rounds of two to three minutes, each with a one-minute interval between rounds.

How To Compete

Depending on your level of fitness and how quickly the training progresses you may find yourself ready to box in 4-6 months. It is a decision that will be reached by your coach, yourself (and your parents if under legal age). Boxing Ontario and its coaches and officials go to great lengths to provide a safe environment for its competitors, matching opponents by age, weight and skill:

Age

There are 3 classes of competitors:
Junior (11-16yrs.)
Youth (17-18yrs.)
Elite (19+yrs.).

Junior is further divided into 3 categories:
Junior A (11 - 12yrs.)
Junior B (13 - 14yrs.)
Junior C (15 - 16yrs.)

Category (Experience) Novice or Open:
Boxers with 0-10 bouts are classified as Novice Boxers, and they only box other Novice boxers. In some cases a tournament may be divided into Novice and Sub-Novice categories so that boxers with 0-5 bouts (Sub Novice) box one another and boxers with 6-10 bouts box one another.

A boxer joins the open category when he/she has more than ten bouts.