pugilism

• It was not because pugilism was a fashionable amusement in those days that I attended a “set-to” occasionally; I went on my own account, not to ape people in the fashionable world, and enjoyed it on my own account, not because they liked it, but because I did. —  The Reminiscences Of Sir Henry Hawkins (Baron Brampton)
• The day's title baffles Americans-a celebration of pugilism, perhaps? —  Consumer Reports Electronics Blog
• All the staff at Fitzroy have emphasised that pugilism isn't simply about hitting or being hit. —  The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed
• I admire the old fashion according to which in English pugilism (which, however, I do not admire) the combatants shook hands before they fought; only I think much time ought not to be spent upon such salutations when there is other work to do In a letter to his wife seven years later, Mr. Gladstone says of this dispute, 'Mr. Arbuthnot told me to-day an observation of Sir George Lewis's when at the exchequer here. —  The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 1 (of 3) 1809-1859
• For by this time, in spite of lordly patronage, pugilism was doomed, and the more harmless boxing had taken its place. —  George Borrow and His Circle Wherein May Be Found Many Hitherto Unpublished Letters Of Borrow And His Friends

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