The International Boxing Union (1913–1946): A European Sports and/or Political Failure?

Boxeo, espectáculo y deporte. Hacia la construcción de una institucionalidad pugilística en la Buenos Aires de los años veinte

“…La Federación dio forma institucional también a los títulos nacionales y a la organización de títulos sudamericanos. Este proceso de construcción de consensos internacionales y nacionales consolidó la estructura del boxeo, articulada en torno a récords y equivalencias (Loudcher, 2013(Loudcher, , p. 2017).…”

The first elite sport training camp in France: Manitot (1912–1924)

“…However, the scientific rhetoric seemed to be original to Carpentier's book, as compared to the opus of French boxing literature during the Belle Époque. Neither Roose's book, nor the book written by Mortane, Linville, and Castérès (1908), mentioned the term "science," although it was largely referenced in sport journalists' comments (Loudcher, 2016). Only one book written during this time, La boxe Anglaise et Française par les champions du ring (1911), referred to "scientific" boxing, but in a relatively incomplete way.…”

“…As a matchmaker, on 24 June 1912, he arranged, in partnership with Olympic fencer Léon Sée, a “world” middleweight championship at Dieppe between Carpentier and American Frank Klaus ( L'Auto , 1 February 1928). To note, at that time, no international bodies officially governed the various boxing titles, although French, English, and American officials had launched some such initiatives as early as 1908 (Loudcher & Day, 2013). Sée aspired to be a representative to the French professional boxing body.…”

“…Sée was eventually contacted by the director of the British journal Sporting Life and by the British National Sporting Club to help in the foundation of an international body, which ultimately failed. In 1913, after different controversial episodes between the various protagonists, the IBU was launched by Rousseau and Reichel, but without English representation and only one American delegate (Loudcher & Day, 2013). After the First World War, Boyer continued his role as matchmaker, organizing both wrestling bouts and weightlifting meets.…”

“…Particularly in France, sport events spread quickly with the proliferation of cycling tours (the Tour de France began in 1903), automobile rallies (the Paris-Bordeaux or Paris-Madrid rallies), aviation races, boxing bouts, bodybuilding contests, gymnastics competitions, rugby matches, and so on. Furthermore, French sport officials played important roles in the international organization of sport (Cronin & Holt, 2003), creating or co-founding international bodies such as the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) in 1889, the modern Olympic Movement in 1894, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in 1904, and the International Boxing Union (IBU) in 1913 (Loudcher & Day, 2013). Conditions were ripe for the bureaucratization of sport during the Belle Époque in France, leading to the creation of the Comité National des Sports (founded in 1908) and the Comité National Olympique (founded in 1911) (Loudcher & Monnin, 2013).…”