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professional boxing

professional boxing

1 2.8
A sport where people get paid to fight with gloves
  • noun
  • /prəˈfɛʃənl ˈbɑksɪŋ/
translation icon : boxeo profesional
  • The event showcased the top fighters in professional boxing, drawing a large audience and significant media attention.

And also what are your thoughts on professional boxing or kickboxing or MMA?

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Examples

  • Welcome to the world of professional boxing.

  • Today, I'm announcing my retirement from professional boxing.

  • During the post-Tyson era, Oscar became the face of professional boxing and carried the sport into the twenty-first century.

    Academic text (2013)
  • The former England all-rounder and Ashes winner will be making his professional boxing debut against, as yet, an unnamed opponent.

    Blog text (28)
  • Jacobs made his professional boxing debut on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton, which took place on December 8, 2007, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Blog text (22)
  • Many young athletes aspire to become stars in professional boxing for the fame and financial rewards.

  • He decided to pursue a career in professional boxing after winning several amateur championships.

Synonyms

prizefighting
vsprofessional boxing
1 4.6

A sport where people fight by boxing to win money or prizes

focuses on fighters who earn a living from regular paid matches

How Organized

professional boxing
1 2.8
sparring
22 4.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

professional + boxing

The meaning is directly compositional: 'professional' (paid/occupational) modifies 'boxing' (the sport), so the phrase denotes boxing practiced as a paid occupation. This noun-modifier pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Professional boxing comes from the idea of a professional, someone who does a 'job' for money, and boxing, the sport of fighting with gloves; when fighters began to be paid for matches they turned boxing into a 'job'. So today, professional boxing means boxing done as a 'job' to 'earn money'.