Julie Miller, age 16, of Enid, Okla., for her question:

WHAT ARE THE MARQUIS OF QUEENSBERRY RULES?    

Boxing is the name of a competition in which two people, wearing gloves over their fists, attempt to strike each other while trying to ward off blows. The contest takes place on a rope enclosed padded platform 24 feet square called the ring.

In professional boxing rounds last three minutes, with one minute of rest between each round. Between three and 15 rounds make up a match.    

Boxing as a sport goes back almost to earliest man. Among works of art carved in stone and dating back 5,000 years are Pictures of fighters in personal combat. Some had their hands wrapped in leather.

Prizefighting, as boxing is often called was known in the London theater in the late 1600s. The first fighter with an established record was James Figs who boxed in London and was the recognized champion for 15 Years from 1719 to 1734.

The first official rules of the sport were called Broughton's rulest and they went into effect in 1743. They were altered and improved with the London Prize Ring Rules in 1838.

Then came John Sholto Douglas the 8th Marquis of Queensberry. He was the English patron of boxing and a member of the House of Lords as a Scottish representative. He was active in the John Chambers, Amateur Athletic Club and in 1867 helped draw up boxing's official regulations which were called the Marquis of Queensberry Rules.

The Queensberry rules with a few modifications are still in effect in the United States and throughout most of the world.

The Queensberry rules established three minute rounds with one minute rest periods. The rules also said the following: ''If either man falls, through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed.   

Boxing today is very carefully regulated. A boxing commission makes sure that opponents are properly fit.

Weight limits determine boxing divisions: flyweightv under 112 pounds; bantamweights 118; featherweights 126; lightweights 135; welterweight, 147; middleweights 160; light heavyweights 175; heavyweight, over 175.