The origins of boxing as a sport go back at least to ancient Greece and the original Olympic Games. However, the origins of modern boxing can be found in semi-underground bare-knuckle prize fights in eighteenth-century England, especially London.

James Figg was the first boxer to be recognised as Heavyweight Champion in 1719.

A set of standardising rules was introduced in 1743 by the then Champion John 'Jack' Broughton. 'Broughton's Rules' eliminated certain practices such as hitting opponents when they are down and pulling hair. These governed boxing until the London Prize Ring Rules of 1838.

The 'Queensbury Rules' are the rules that would be recognisable to boxing fans today. For example, they were the first to require the use of gloves. These were drawn up in London in 1865 and published in 1867. Although they are known after the Eighth Marquis of Queensberry (John Sholto Douglas) he did not actually write them. His was a public endorsement of the new code, which was actually written by John Graham Chambers, a Welsh sportsman. They were largely accepted by the end of the nineteenth century, and remain the code governing the conduct of professional boxing.

This gallery attempts to draw attention to some of the fighters and venues that are linked to some of the most significant parts of the story of boxing in London over the past few centuries. This does not pretend to be a comprehensive history of the subject. It attempts to signpost some of the stories that can be told.

The selection of photographs and older images is, of course, limited by what survives in our collections and which of them have been digitised on The London Picture Archive. Many of the boxers and venues that could or should feature in a selection such as this could not be included due to a lack of images. The most obvious omission is that we do not have a digitised picture of York Hall in Bethnal Green, arguably the most iconic British boxing venue of all! Another issue faced in curating this selection was that many of the original buildings are no longer there. In those instances, a picture of the site from a later date has been included.

For many of the images selected the boxing link is self-explanatory, for others the link is more tangential. The most tenuous link probably being the photograph of a maternity ward in Hammersmith Hospital - the link being that it was the birthplace in 1972 of Italian-Welshman Joe Calzaghe, one of the personal favourite boxers of this contributor!

One of the aspects that come across from these stories is the huge role that immigrant communities have played throughout the history of boxing in London. The hope is that you enjoy this gallery, and that you go on to research further.