Wrestling is a sport of grappling, where two opponents try to subdue each other using holds, leverage and pressure, while boxing is a sport of striking, where two competitors wearing padded gloves punch each other to score points or win by knockout. The simplest way to remember it: wrestling is about controlling your opponent's body, boxing is about landing punches on it.
The core difference
Wrestling is a grappling sport of holds and leverage; boxing is a striking sport of punches.
- wrestling — a sport where two opponents try to subdue each other through bare-handed grappling, using leverage, holds and pressure points; also used for a wrestling match itself, or for professional wrestling as entertainment.
- boxing — a combat sport in which two competitors wearing padded gloves punch each other, scoring points or winning by knockout: he took up boxing to build up his stamina before the season started.
How to tell them apart
The clearest distinction is what the athletes are allowed to do to each other. Wrestlers grapple: they grip, throw and pin, using leverage and holds rather than strikes. Boxers strike: they punch with padded gloves, aiming to outscore their opponent or knock them out, with no grappling allowed.
Wrestling also stretches beyond its sporting sense to mean any struggle to achieve something, as in wrestling with a difficult decision, and it commonly refers to professional wrestling, the scripted entertainment version of the sport. Boxing stays closer to its literal meaning, tied directly to the act of punching.
