Bible of Boxing: The History of The Ring Magazine

In the early 1920s, boxing still lived somewhere between chaos and the edge of the law.

Jack Dempsey was at the forefront of that pugilistic pandemonium, standing as both the most feared and admired fighter on the planet.

'The Manassa Mauler’ wasn’t just the heavyweight champion in his era - he was boxing itself. A symbol of violence and authority, but of celebrity too, at a time when champions were made as much by reputation as their results.

When The Ring Magazine later recognised Dempsey as its first-ever heavyweight champion in their founding year of 1922, it wasn’t crowning him; it was validating what the world already knew. He was the man.

That moment set the tone for everything that followed, as The Ring never existed to create champions - it existed to recognise truth.

More than a century after Founder Nat Fleischer set out to bring order to the chaos of boxing, The Ring remains a constant voice in a sport constantly trying to reinvent itself.

Nat Fleischer’s Mission

The Ring was founded in 1922 by Fleischer, a boxing writer and historian who believed the sport needed something it lacked desperately: credibility.

At the time, champions were disputed, records were inconsistent, and titles were often shaped by influence rather than achievement.

Fleischer wasn’t interested in selling fights; he wanted to document them honestly and respectfully.

His magazine wasn’t built on hype, but on credible observation - on the belief that boxing deserved a consistent, respected record of what actually happened between the ropes.

Over time, that commitment earned The Ring its defining title: 'The Bible of Boxing’.

A Title That Meant Something

Fleischer established the Ring belt to represent the one true World Champion, ‘the man who beat the man’.

“The Ring Magazine belt - it’s the signature that you are the king of that division,” stated Bernard Hopkins, the oldest World Champion in boxing history and former Undisputed middleweight ruler.

“To me, it’s a pride to have this belt. That’s what’s a tradition.”

As boxing evolved over time, so did its problems. Governing bodies eventually multiplied, and sanctioning fees grew. World titles became fractured with a political undercurrent, and their meaning was gradually diluted by business interests.

But the Ring Championship stood apart. There were no fees to pay and no mandatory challengers to appease.

There were no shortcuts to the pinnacle of recognition. To hold the coveted Ring title, a fighter had to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that they were the best in their division.

That standard made it sacred. From Dempsey to Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson to Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mike Tyson and beyond, The Ring didn’t follow boxing history - it helped define it.

Boxing’s Shared Language

Boxing has never belonged to just one single culture or country. It lives differently in diverse locations.

In Mexico, it’s fought with pressure and pride. In Japan, there is discipline and respect. In the UK, there's tradition and grit. In America, technique and tactics are prominent, with scale and spectacle being important overall.

Different cities. Different languages. Different gyms. But the work is the same. Those early runs. The empty roads. The quiet sacrifices no crowd ever sees.

That truth doesn’t change with geography for any fighters - and The Ring recognised it long before the sport was globalised.

Its pages gave equal recognition to flyweights and heavyweights, to fighters from overlooked regions and those from boxing’s biggest stages.

If the work was done and success earned, it was recorded with passion within the pages.

Through Turbulent Eras

Boxing survived the mob era, the television boom, the pay-per-view explosion and the digital age, while promotional power shifted over time. But The Ring endured.

Even as the sport fractured under competing interests, it remained a reference point - a reminder of how boxing used to be judged before financial complications appeared.

Rankings, rivalries and legacies were preserved when others were distorted. It became less about who shouted loudest and more about who had actually earned their place.

In an age of instant opinion and manufactured narratives, The Ring still strives to represent something fighters understand instinctively: earned respect.

Being recognised by The Ring means more than visibility. It means validation of their work being seen, measured, and acknowledged without bias.

Fighters know the difference between promotion and truth, with those superstars at the very top still welcoming the prestige that comes from being recognised by The Ring.

The Bible Endures

Boxing may live in different settings, but it runs on the same principles of discipline, sacrifice, and consistency - everywhere.

That’s why The Ring still matters - and why BOXRAW exists alongside that same belief in the new collaboration. Two worlds. One vision. A legacy built over a century, and a movement built for what’s next.

It’s been a constant witness and a permanent reminder that the truth of boxing is earned in the work, and that truth looks the same worldwide.

In a sport regularly looking to revitalise with passing generations, The Ring has stayed loyal to the core principles it recognised in Jack Dempsey over a century ago.

The Ring x BOXRAW Collection

The Ring × BOXRAW Collection is here. Two worlds. One vision. A legacy built over a century. A movement built for what’s next.