Championship Fight -September 7：美国历史上的今天

内容提要：1865年，英国“昆士伯利拳击规则”出台。这个规则基本上形成了后来拳击比赛的竞争框架，引导了拳击比赛发展的方向。

On September 7, 1892, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the first heavyweight title fight 重量级冠军比赛 under the Queensberry Rules 昆士伯利规则 was fought. This championship fight 冠军赛 was between John L. Sullivan and “Gentleman Jim" Corbett. It took 21 rounds before James J. Corbett knocked out 击倒 John L. Sullivan. It was in this fight that a different type of boxing match took place. 

Before the Queensberry Rules were written, boxing was a very dangerous sport in which fighters were often crippled 将……致残  or even killed. Before the rules, two fighters wrestled 格斗, shoved 推挤, or hit each other until one of the boxers was knocked down. When one of the boxers was knocked down, the round was over. The fight was over when one man could not fight any longer. Boxing was very cruel. 

Many places made it against the law. With the introduction of the Queensberry Rules, boxing became more popular. The Queensberry Rules for boxing said that boxers must wear gloves. Before the rules, boxers fought without boxing gloves. This was called bare-knuckle 不戴拳击手套的 fighting. John L Sullivan, who fought in the first fight under the Queensberry Rules, was the bare-knuckle champion. He had never lost a bare-knuckle fight.

The rules also said that fighters were to fight for three minutes, then have a minute to rest. Before the rules changed, fighters fought without a time-out 暂停 until one man could not go on. 

Another rule stated that if a fighter was down on one knee, he could not be hit. A boxer who was knocked down had 10 seconds to get back on his feet. 

The Queensberry Rules made boxing more popular and less dangerous.

本文内容选自上海外语教育出版社引进出版的《听读美国小故事》第9册（9月）。如需购买，可到当当、亚马逊、京东等网上书城去看看。