The Marquess of Queensberry Rules

In 1867, John Graham Chambers wrote a code of boxing rules under the patronage of John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry. The Queensberry Rules introduced three major changes that defined modern boxing: padded gloves of a fixed minimum weight, 3-minute rounds with 1-minute rests, and a 10-second count if a fighter was knocked down. They forbade wrestling moves, hugging, and hitting below the belt. Initially intended for amateur boxing, the rules were adopted by the professional sport during the 1880s and were universal by the time John L. Sullivan lost the world heavyweight title to James J. Corbett — under Queensberry rules with gloves — in New Orleans on September 7, 1892. The Queensberry rules remain, in essence, the foundation of all modern boxing.