The Greek and Roman athletes
Wore studs of iron on each hand;
Beating and clawing each other,
Like two tigers on the sand.

The English called it boxing first,
To pound someone with your fist.
Mostly it was done for money
But sometimes by those just pissed.

Matches of the bare-knuckle days
Lasted fifty rounds or more,
'Till one man's towel would be thrown in
As he lay upon the floor.

Boxers now use soft leather gloves,
With their hands wrapped in cotton,
Wearing a mouthpiece for teeth and lips;
They fight like those forgotten.

By Boxing Poet
Tom Zart
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Tom Zart

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/boxing-poet-tom-zart-s-boxers-past-present/