PUGILISM (from Lat. pagii, boxer, from pugnus, fist; connected with Gk. irt)-pAn, pygme, fist, ORG. fast, Ger. Faust, AS. fyst, Eng. fist). Prize fighting. The practice of fighting for a prize with the fists has from earliest times been peculiarly an Anglo-Saxon sport, but in its pro fessional aspect it is comparatively modern. Tom Figg, who was the champion of England in 1719, is said to have introduced professional pugilism into England. He was the owner of a theatre in London where contests with and without gloves were regularly held. During his lifetime the sport was so as to be under the direct patronage of royalty. After his death, however, there was a lull in the public interest until about 1735, when George Taylor declared himself the champion of England. From this time on prize fighting grew in popnlarity and was indulged in and patronized by all classes of society. The fights were conducted under the rules of the London prize ring, but gradually be came so disreputable by their invariable brutality that national laws were enacted prohibiting prize fighting throughout the United Kingdom. With the founding of the Amateur Athletic Club in 1866, scientific boxing again Caine into vogue, and at the same time the Marquis of Queens berry's rules were recognized as the code under which boxing contests should be conducted. These rules, although known by the name of the Alltrquis of Queensberry, were really formulated by one of the founders of the Amateur Athletic Club, J. 0. Chambers. The fashion of the period, however, which demanded the patronage of some prominent member of the nobility, led him to secure the use of that nobleman's name, because of his known interest in the sport. The under lying motive of the rules was to mark a distinc tion between professional and amateur, and thus to create an interest in glove fighting. Originally they provided for a series of contests for gentle men amateurs, the prizes being challenge cups. There were to be three classes of contestants: 'heavy,' weighing more than 158 pounds: 'mid dle,' less than 158 pounds; and 'light-weights,' of 140 pounds and under. There were three judges, and each bout was to consist of three rounds, each one of which might be up to five minutes in duration, with one minute rest between the
.ounds, the contestant not responding to the call of time to be declared the loser. The ring was fixed at 24 feet. In the original rules there is no mention of a ten-second time limit, but, on the other hand, the idea seems to have been to permit. the contestants to fight the full three rounds, permitting the one who had been knocked down any reasonable time to recover. The mod ern Queensberry rules contain the following clause under which all present-day glove contests are fought: "Contest for Endurance.—To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable; no wrestling o• hugging al lowed; the round to be of three minutes' dura tion and one minute time; if either man fall through weakness or otherwise he must get up unassisted; ten seconds to be allowed him to do so; the other man meanwhile to retire to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to he resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired, and if one man fails to come to the scratch in the ten seconds allowed it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favor of the other man; a man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state with his toes off the ground shall be considered down; no seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds; should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name time and place for finishing the contest as soon as possible, so that the match must be won or lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality, and new; should a glove burst o• come off it must be replaced to the referees' satisfaction. A man on one knee is considered down, and if struck is entitled to the stakes. No shoes or boots with spriggs allowed." Modern prize fights and boxing contests are divided into six classes, the weights for which are as follows: Heavy, more than 158 pounds; mid dle, under 15S pounds; welter, under 142 pounds; light-weight, under 133 pounds; feather-weight, under 122 pounds; bantam-weight, under 115 pounds.