Tyberia Benford, age 12, of Atlanta, Ga., for his question:
WHY IS A SQUARE CALLED A BOXING RING?
In the olden days, boxing was an extremely cruel and brutal sport. Then in England in 1872 a sportsman named the Marquis of Queensberry came up with a code of 12 rules that greatly improved the sport. The rules have been used throughout the world ever since with only slight changes. The rules brought three minute rounds and required boxers to wear gloves.
Boxing is one of the world's oldest sports. The Sumerians boxed more than 5,000 years ago and it was also a brutal spectacle in ancient Greece.
The ancient Romans staged brutal boxing matches in which the contestants wore leather straps on their hands and forearms that were plated with metal. The fighters hit each other until one fell to the ground unconscious.
In the ancient days the fighting area was confined to a circular ring. When modern boxing came into being, the fighting area became a square platform but it retained the name of "boxing ring.''
Although ''ring'' is generally thought to be a circular band, even the dictionary now acknowledges that "ring" can also be the "square enclosure" that is used for boxing matches.
The modern boxing ring is a square platform that may measure from 16 to 24 feet on each side. For professional championship fights, the boxers may select the size of the ring within these limits on the approval of the local boxing commission.
A boxing ring must have at least three ropes, attached to a post at each corner, surrounding the platform. The floor of the ring has to be covered with canvas stretched over a foam rubber or felt pad. The ring floor stands three to four feet higher than the floor of the arena where the boxing ring is located.
Before the Marquis of Queensberry boxing rules came into force in 1872, matches were held between bare knuckled fighters. An American named John L. Sullivan in 1889 defeated a fighter named Jake Kilrain in the 75th round of the last bare knuckle championship ever fought.
In 1892, Sullivan fought James J. Corbett to decide the heavyweight championship under the Queensberry Rules. Corbett became the first official world champion under these rules when he knocked out Sullivan in the 21st round.
Until the 1920s, boxing remained an illegal sport in many parts of the United States. In that year, New York legalized boxing and the other states that had been against it
One of the most famous early fights was held in 1927 when more than 100,000 people paid a record $2,658,600 to see heavyweight champion Jack Dempsy lose in a decision to Gene Tunney. Earlier in the seventh round a "long count" had given Tunney an advantage.