TODAY is the date the first recorded boxing match in England took place in 1681.

The organised fisticuffs happened when the Duke of Albemarle engineered a bout between his butler and his butcher.

Bare-knuckle boxing contests were held in amphitheatres in the following years.

The first set of rules for the sport was published in 1743, developed by Jack Boughton as a result of bout in which he killed his opponent.

The Queensberry rules, on which the modern sport is based, were published in 1867. The first set of rules to mention gloves were written by sportsman John Graham Chambers and got their name after being publicly endorsed by the 9th Marquess of Queensberry.

To mark the anniversary of the first bout, here are 10 bits of trivia about boxing:

  • The longest bare-knuckle fight took place in 1855, lasting six hours and 15 minutes.
  • Puerto Rican fighter Wilfred Benitez was the youngest professional world champion when he won the light welterweight title in 1976 aged 17.
  • With 141 of them, Archie Moore holds the record for the most knockouts during a career.
  • Measuring seven feet tall and weighing a colossal 328lb, Russian Nikolai Valuev is the tallest and heaviest boxer to hold a world title.
  • When heavyweights Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson fought in 1963 they were earning the sport’s first million dollar paydays. Liston won.
  • American Rocky Marciano is the only undefeated heavyweight champion in the history of boxing, with 49 wins including 43 Kos.
  • Amateur boxing has been an Olympic sport since its 1904. Women’s boxing was introduced at London 2012.
  • Britain's Len Wickwar is the most prolific boxer in history , with a total of 467 professional fights. Perhaps not surprisingly, he holds the records for the most wins (336) and most losses (127).
  • Muhammad Ali is a legendary fighter but he was once outfoxed by a flight attendant. On being asked to fasten his seatbelt. Ali replied: "Superman don’t need no seat belt." The attendant told him: "Superman don’t need no airplane!"
  • One possible source of the expression ‘the real McCoy’ is American boxer Kid McCoy who In the 1890s used to trick his opponents into thinking he was ill or in trouble in the ring. It wasn’t clear whether McCoy was being real or not.