Modern boxing gloves and timed rounds only became standard in 1867, under rules named for a British nobleman.

For much of its early history, boxing was fought bare-knuckle under loosely enforced rules that varied by location, often allowing wrestling holds and matches that could run for dozens of rounds until one fighter couldn’t continue. That began to change with the Marquess of Queensberry rules, published in 1867 and endorsed by John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, though largely drafted by a sportsman named John Chambers.

The new rules mandated padded gloves, introduced fixed three-minute rounds with a minute of rest between them, banned wrestling-style holds, and established the ten-count for a knockout. These changes shifted boxing away from its rougher bare-knuckle roots toward something closer to the regulated sport known today, and the Queensberry name is still invoked as shorthand for fighting “by the rules.”