Help:Contents
Help for Visitors
This BoxRec.com Boxing Encyclopaedia was inaugurated January 2005. It is a Wiki-based site: most anyone can anonymously create, add to, and edit material here. If you wish to participate please use your account to log-in.
- Consider clicking on the "Preferences" link located on every page here, to customize this site to your liking. Among the many options you'll have, once you have logged-on, is to choose the "Appearance" of these wiki pages.
- How to Use the Search Box
- The Main Page offers popular starting links, such as: "Recent Changes" by the Editors to the BoxRec wiki: [1]; and "Latest Images" & other files uploaded: [2]
- Tip: If you see an image that interests you, click it to view it in its original, un-reduced size.
Help for Page Editors
Be forewarned: Whatever you originally create or add to this wiki may be edited by other Editors to your dislike or dismay. At the bottom of every Edit Window here is the caveat: "Please note that all contributions to Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource." Also, please write in English only; do not write in another language. Otherwise the page may be deleted, because this is an English-only boxing encyclopaedia.
Creating New Wiki Pages: To start a brand-new page for a person (boxer, manager, referee, etc.) or any boxing-related subject, you can go to your own personal wiki USER Page and edit it, then put in something like this [[Name of new person]]. You can create a page for any other boxing-related subject under the sun, so long as you use the double-brackets code to create a new link, which you will later click on after either saving or previewing your edited USER page. You then will get sent to an empty page with the name of the link you have just created, where you can enter text, photos and what-not.
Another way to create a new page is to search for the title of your new page in the search box found on every wiki page here. For example, you can put "Red Font" in the search box. If there is not already a wiki boxing page named "Red Font," you will get a "Search result" that says "Create the page "Red Font" on this wiki!" -- and the phrase "Red Font" will be in red font. You then click on that red font phrase, which will bring you to an empty page that you can then fill in with text and image code and so on.
A further way to create a new, or edit an existing, wiki page associated with a person, bout, or show ("event"), that can be found in the BoxRec fight database, is to click on the wiki icon next to every person and event. (The wiki link to a bout can be found at the far-right side of your computer screen, by clicking on the icon of three small horizontal lines, which leads you to a menu of bouts options, and a back-door to its associated wiki page.)
To create a "new" boxer's wiki page, you could: 1) do a "name search" using the wiki Search Engine (there is a search box found on every wiki page here); 2) if you cannot find any wiki page for a boxer after performing a wiki search, go through the BoxRec Fight Record "Front Door" instead of creating a new page for a pro boxer from your wiki User page (or from any other wiki page, for that matter). That is, do a "Name Search" to find if that boxer already has a BoxRec Fight Record, then click on the wiki icon located nearby, and start editing his wiki page from there.
Also, when creating a brand-new boxer's page, please provide the rating country (e.g., USA) and default residence (Rochester, NY, USA) (or, at least the state: New York, USA). And weight division, if that can be determined. (Same goes for adding a new bout to the record of a boxer whose profile lacks any residence and/or rating country.) The fields for residence, rating country, weight division are readily available when you create a new record.
Although the boxer will have only that one brand-new bout entry you've just entered, he had to have resided in the town of that one bout for at least that one bout--so that can be used as the default residence. As other bouts are later added to that record, it may turn out he was visiting that state (province, whatever) and actually resided elsewhere, so the profile can then be updated to reflect his true residence.
This helps us fellow Editors, in the future, when trying to figure out which Kid Baker (for example) record to select when we enter our bouts.
After you have created a new link in your USER page by entering the double-brackets coded text in it, simply press the button below the text box that says SHOW PREVIEW. (You don't have to press the SAVE PAGE button, but you can if you really want to save your changes for future use.)
For example: You want to create a brand-new wiki page for Clint Eastwood. Here's what you do:
- Go to your USER page, click the EDIT this page link, and type in the text box [[Clint Eastwood]].
- Below the text box, click the SHOW PREVIEW button. A Preview Page will appear. Within that Preview page you will see a link named "Clint Eastwood" in red font.
- Click on that Clint Eastwood link. A new page, named "Clint Eastwood" will appear, but it will be empty.
- Enter the text, photos, category code, and whatever else you desire.
- Click that page's SHOW PREVIEW button to see what your stuff looks like as a potential finished product. Make any necessary changes.
- Once you are satisfied with everything, then click the SAVE PAGE button. Viola! You have just created a new BoxRec Encyclopaedia "Clint Eastwood" page.
There is no need to go back to your USER page to change or save anything, unless you truly want to save your changes to your USER page. You can move on. Or go back to your USER page to create another new wiki link/page.
Using Categories: You can assign pages to various categories in the BoxRec Wikipedia. For example, if you want to put boxer Joe Smith in the "World Heavyweight Champions" Category, put the "World Heavyweight Champions" category code on that boxer's page. Generally speaking, place the "category code" at the bottom of the page. Note: This code DOES NOT go onto your User Page, nor does it go onto the Category Page itself. It goes on the boxer's page. (Or if you are creating a new page concerning a boxing venue in London, for example, the "London Venues" Category Code would go onto THAT page you are creating.)
Some sample category codes include:
- [[Category:Judges|Last Name, First Name]]
- [[Category:Referees|Last Name, First Name]]
- [[Category:Promoters|Last Name, First Name]]
- [[Category:Boxers who served in World War I|Last Name, First Name]]
Be sure to check that you are using the correct category for your page, assuming it has a category. Not every wiki page needs to be assigned a category.
You can also use "DEFAULTSORT", especially if a Wiki page is assigned at least two categories:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Name, First Name}}
[[Category:World Welterweight Champions]]
[[Category:World Light Middleweight Champions]]
[[Category:Two Division World Champions]]
[[Category:American World Champions]]
[[Category:Southpaw World Champions]]
Here are the various categories.
And be sure to CHECK YOUR SPELLING, because if you misspell the category, you will accidentally create a new category with that misspelled word as the title of that new category. Check the list of categories to see if the category is singular or plural. For example, the correct category is "Referees" not "Referee," "Promoters" not "Promoter."
Editing a Page/Article:
Whenever you edit a page/article here, whether it originally was your own creation or someone else started that page, please be sure to note in the "Summary" box -- immediately below the text editing "window" you wrote in -- a brief explanation of what you did. Such as: "added Manager category"; "fixed typo"; "included more achievements"; "deleted erroneous statement regarding NBA title"; whatever. This helps your fellow Editors who follow changes (by visiting the "Recent changes" page) get an idea of what you did, without having to necessarily visit the page you edited. Also, if it indeed was a minor edit, and nothing substantive was messed with, click the "This is a minor edit" box below the "Summary" box beneath the text editing window.
Fight Code: Remember to always place the "fight code" at the top of each fight page to which you are adding a bout description. Use the following HTML tags: <fight>Fight identification number</fight>, and place the bout's fight identification number between those tags. This code automatically will insert text showing the date of the bout, the names of the opponents, their official weights, result, (time), number of rounds boxed and scheduled, venue and location, the names of the referee and the judges, and their scores. The actual fight identification number to insert between the tags is very obvious, once you get to the fight page that you want to create or edit. (This is assuming you have come over here to the Encyclopaedia pages by clicking on a "blue book" bout comment icon () from a BoxRec.com Fight Record.) The fight code, with ID number, will then look something like this:
<fight>12345</fight>
Factoids regarding the fight are encouraged. Some people like to watch an old bout on tape or DVD, and keep track of significant facts, and record them here on the applicable fight page (knockdowns, celebrities introduced in the ring prior to the fight, sanctioning body, and so forth). Consider using an asterisk in front of each factoid, to create a series of "bullets." For example:
- Sanctioned by the World Boxing Association
- Smith was knocked down by a right uppercut for a count of eight in the second round.
- Referee John Doe stopped the bout at 1:08 of the ninth round, to protect Smith from further punishment, as Smith staggered about the ring.
Comments: Also remember that fight comments should: 1) Be written in English only, no foreign languages; 2) Not be written in the first person, such as "I saw Smith knocked down"; 3) Not be a personal point-of-view, such as "Smith was robbed!" or "My unofficial score at the time of stoppage was..." (And it certainly is not the place to state generically, "Controversial decision" -- as sometimes happens before such a comment is deleted, if it is not supported by substantial independent authority.) In fact, ALL comments in ALL pages should follow this rule. Not just fight pages. Any such comments will be edited or deleted by an Administrator.
The "Talk" or "Discussion" section of each page is where you can: 1) send a message to any of your fellow Boxing Encyclopaedia members, by going to their User page and clicking their "Talk" link; and 2) post questions, make comments and suggestions, and so forth, on how to improve any page in this Encyclopaedia. The "Talk" section is not the place to state your personal opinion about a fight or boxer, or for "soapboxing." (Instead, you can post your personal opinions in the BoxRec Forum.) The "Talk" section is merely the place to comment on how to improve the attached page, or to add to incidental information that may not otherwise fit into the attached page. See here for the main Wikipedia's guidelines on these "Talk"/"Discussion" pages.
Please add your signature to your comment, by either clicking the "signature" button above the text box (the tab is the second from the right and looks like this: ), or by manually typing four tildas at the end of your message: ~~~~. (When you are in an editing window, there is a row of icons/buttons immediately above the window that you use to create various things. From left to right, these buttons are: (create) bold font, italic font, internal link, external link, level 2 headline, embedded image, media link file, "no wiki" text, signature, and horizontal line. Click on the "signature" button to add your signature.) The handy thing about a "signature" is that it provides an automatic link to the Editor/signer's personal wiki page, allowing people to communicate easily with that signer about what the signer had written on another wiki page. Further, once you enter a message in the "Talk/Discussion" section of an Editor's page, that will also automatically create a notice to the Editor that someone has messaged him/her.
Human Code: There is also a "human code" that you can add to a boxer's page or referee/judge's that you are creating or updating. It looks much like the "fight code" except that you replace the word "fight" with the word "human"; and insert the person's own individual identification number between those tags:
<human>56789</human>
The actual human ID number to enter between the tags also is very obvious, once you get to the human page you are creating or editing. This human code automatically will add a link to the human's BoxRec record, as well as bring over from his or her BoxRec record page, to the Wiki human page you are working on, the human's profile statistics -- such as the date of birth, alias, height, reach, and so forth depending on whether he or she is a boxer, judge, promoter, ... What it won't transfer over from the BoxRec fight record to these Wiki-based pages are a boxer's usual weight division, and manager/trainer names -- assuming they are mentioned in the BoxRec record profile. You will have to enter this information manually. If you do add this data to the boxer's Encyclopaedia page here, remember to enclose the manager's and trainer's name in double brackets: [[Peter Manager]], thereby generating links to their own individual pages. Again, look at other examples of how a page looks after manually entering the trainer and manager's names. See, for example, the page for Joe Louis. The "human code" can also be used when creating a referee's or judge's page, if s/he already has an officiating record in the BoxRec database.
Remember: Any text you insert into a boxer's page should also follow the same rules mentioned above for fight comments: English only, please; no subjective or personal opinions; and no first-person observations. Beware of committing copyright transgressions.
Images: You can upload an image only after you have logged-on as a Wiki Editor. Every page has a link entitled "Upload file." (For general image HTML markup instructions, see here.) Once you have uploaded an image, Wiki will offer you an image name that looks something like this, depending on the title of your image file: Image:Smith.John.jpg
(When uploading images to the Wiki database, please use a short file name if possible, such as "JohnSmith.jpg".)
March 2020 Tip: (Please read) MediaWiki:Uploadtext
You should copy and paste that image title into an image code that looks like this: [[file:Smith.John.jpg|John Smith]]. Then insert that complete image code into the very top of the boxer's page, above all other HTML code and text on that page (with some rare exceptions). (Add the "human code" immediately beneath the image code, if the human code is not already in the page.) Then you should consider editing that image code. We Wiki Editors have varying styles of how we like the images to look on a page. Images default to the right-hand side of the page. However, you can add the word "left" in a "framed" image, separated by a pipe | and the image will be placed on the left-side of the page. (See the next paragraph, regarding reducing image size, for more information about separating HTML code with a pipe character.) A "framed" image will automatically generate a border around the image, and allows you to create a visible caption. The preference here, however, is to set the boxer's image immediately to the left of the boxer's BoxRec profile (name, hometown, nationaility, etc.). In this case, insert the word "left". Such as: [[file:Smith.John.jpg|left|John Smith]]. The far-right text of the image code is what will be seen by anyone moving his mouse over the image, and creates a visible caption for "thumbed" or "framed" images.
For purposes of the above example, we have assumed you uploaded a boxer's image. But you can upload any image -- including an action photo of a fight, or a scan of an advertising poster, that you want to enter onto a fight comment page, and so forth. But be careful not to include too many photos into a page, and risk cluttering the page. Generally, only one image of a boxer is appropriate. If the page is longer than usual, then maybe one or more images can be added. Multiple images look best on longer pages, not short pages. (But you can also link, from the page you are working on, to other images you have uploaded to the BoxRec Wikipedia. To do that, once the second image has been uploaded, insert code that looks like this: [[:Image:Smith.John.jpg|Photo #2]]. Note that a colon (:) was placed immediately before the word "Image" for this code.)
You can upload the largest size possible, then reduce what is visible on the Wiki page by adding special code. To reduce the visible size of a relatively large image you have already uploaded to Wiki, insert an additional code of, say, "200px", separated by a "pipe" character ----> | -- which will then look like this: [[file:Smith.John.jpg|left|200px|photo]]
Also, do not use any image without the copyright owner's permission. See the main Wikipedia's copyright image use policy.
See also, the Policy page for other important guidelines.
Finally, for a more exhaustive explanation of how to create pages, using images, and formatting, see Help Editing.
Common Punctuation Mistakes to Avoid
When creating or editing pages, please remember to avoid these common punctuation errors:
- 1990's (incorrect plural of the decade's years); 1990s (correct)
- Adding an apostrophe to a singular word (such as the word photo) to make it plural (such as the incorrect photo's). Also, KO's is the incorrect plural of KO; KOs is correct. Only the plural of non-capitalized single letters are given the apostrophe, such as: "Mind your p's and q's"; "Dot your i's and cross your t's."
- Incorrect placement of the comma or period outside of a quotation. Such as, in the "old days", they really fought. Or: They really fought, in the "old days". The correct placement of the comma or period is: In the "old days," they really fought. Or: They really fought, in the "old days."(Place the comma or period INSIDE the quotation. However, colons and semi-colons go outside the quote.) But this may be an American thing, as it is common to see the comma or period outside the quotation in English usage, such as is written by the BBC NEWS, for example. So, this is not a set-in-stone rule.
BoxRec does not claim any copyright to the images in its database, but for some rare exceptions (such as the BoxRec logo). As an Internet Web site, and under the "fair use" [3] and "safe harbor" [4] provisions of international copyright law, BoxRec is able to post these images even if someone else claims the copyright to a particular image--until the copyright owner tells BoxRec to take down the image. It is the intent of BoxRec to serve as a free, non-profit, on-line public repository of these images--primarily for preservation, educational, and scholarly purposes. Therefore, permission to use images that BoxRec does not explicitly claim a copyright is not necessary. However, further use of any image is at your own peril.