Pygmachia
It was recorded by an academic historian named Philostratus that the sport of boxing originated in Sparta, where its purpose was to train the face of each warrior into hardening with solid muscles and becoming immune to an opponent’s hit. The ancient Spartans 
shared the common belief that helmets were not only unnecessary but altogether burdensome, and they preferred to train with the sport of boxing in order to prepare themselves for the unavoidable head injuries incurred during battles and war. Ironically, the Spartans never considered boxing as a competitive sport. They only used boxing for training purposes because they could not stand the agonizing defeat which brought great dishonor to the losing warrior. Legend has it that a type of boxing was invented wherein the opponents would beat each other, literally, until the losing party reaches his death.
It was the ancient Greeks who invented boxing as a competitive sport. In order to commemorate Patroclus, the sport pygmachia or pygme was introduced to the 688 B.C. Olympic Games. Just like today’s top athletes, the boxers also trained on punching bags (which at that time were called korykos). They also wore gloves made of leather straps that left the fingers open. Some boxers also wore leather straps on their wrists and across their chests. These were called himantes. Other than the leather straps though, the pygme boxers fought completely in the nude.
These boxing events played an important role in the athletic culture of ancient Greece, just as the present day sports are given much importance in our society. Because most of the Greek accounts of boxing are too fragmented, there is really no clear record of the history, rules and customary practices that were incorporated in pygme, but historians believe that current boxing practices could not have strayed too far from its ancestral sport.