Well the headline sais it all.
Was there a time when boxing squares were circular, so that there is some historical reason for calling them boxing rings?
Regards Tom.
Exactly correct. That’s also why they sometimes call it the ‘squared circle.’
Originally the fight would take place in a crowd that would naturally form a circular arena. At some point, it became the custom to draw a circle on the ground, more to keep spectators out of the way than to confine the boxers.
It was only in the 1830s that the square arena was introduced and some rules decided. It was square simply because constructing a rope circle was too complicated
And how come they call it “Madison Square Garden” when it isn’t square?
More seriously, the last two “Madison Square Gardens” haven’t been at Madison Square
Thank you all for interesting answers! I learned something today!
Not having been to NYC before, I was a little bit surprised to emerge from Penn Station and be at Madison Square Garden. I had no idea that it was built on top of Penn Station until then.
The idea of enclosing the fighting area in firm ropes is a somewhat recent idea, historically speaking; it started happening in the early 1800s. There had been prizefights a very long time before that, but it was normal to simply describe a circle on the ground, using a rope or chalk or something. By 1838 it was formally set out in terms of dimensions by the London Prize Fight rules. It was common enough within a few decades than in the Marquis of Queensberry Rules, which were published in 1867, the “ropes” are mentioned kind of in passing, as if the author (which wasn’t the Marquis, but John G. Chambers) just assumed everyone else was assuming the ring was enclosed in ropes.
It was a big controversy back in 1963. The original Penn Station was a major New York City landmark. But it was privately owned and there was nothing people could do to stop it from being demolished. The controversy led to landmark preservation laws being enacted.
Perhaps a hijack, but I’ll contribute anyway.
I’ve never been in a boxing ring, but I have been inside a pro wrestling ring. I was the ring announcer for the local pro wrestling promotion for many years. And yes, just for fun, I bounced myself off the ropes a few times.
A fighting ring is quite the marvel of engineering. It is designed to “give,” in every way it can: from body slams on the mat to a 300-pounder being thrown into the ropes. A heavyweight wrestler flying off the top rope to elbow-slam his opponent on the mat makes a great noise and the ring is shaken–but not damaged in the least.
The mat itself is surprisingly hard, but soft at the same time. It’s nothing more than a cover atop a one-inch layer of foam, on top of 2 x 12 wood planks. What makes it soft is the way the ring is designed–to “give,” as I said above. Trained wrestlers can use this “giving” to make the most noise, produce the most spectacle, and not harm each other, because of their training and the design of the ring.