Wikipedia:WikiProject Boxing/MOSGuidelines
Articles about boxers
Article structure
Articles about boxers should follow the structure outlined below to ensure consistency.
Infobox boxer
All articles should begin with Infobox boxer (click for example).
syntax
{{Infobox boxer
| name =
| image =
| caption =
| realname =
| nickname =
| weight=
| height =
| reach =
| nationality =
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| style =
| total =
| wins =
| KO =
| losses =
| draws =
| no contests =
}}
- realname: include a boxer's middle or other names here, but leave blank if their full name is the same as that of their known name, which goes simply in the name field
- weight: list all weight classes in which a boxer has competed, separated using <br> or <br />, and starting with the lightest first. If they have only competed a few times at a certain weight, with neither a major nor minor title at stake, do not include it. However, if at least a minor title was at stake for one fight, include that weight class. The various boxing sanctioning bodies each have their own naming format for weight classes, but Wikipedia's own article titles should be used in this field.
syntax
| weight = [[Super featherweight]]<br>[[Light welterweight]]<br>[[Welterweight]]<br>[[Light middleweight]]Super featherweight
Light welterweight
Welterweight
Light middleweight
- nationality: do not add flag icons alongside the text. Flag icons should not be used to emphasise nationality and they are redundant with a written location. They are unnecessarily distracting, liable to incite edit wars (e.g. British flag vs English flag), and give undue prominence to one field among many. More details can be found at WP:MOSICON.
- Do not link common nationalities such as American, Russian, British, Mexican, Canadian, Australian, German, etc. Linking may be used for less commonly known nationalities such as U.S. Virgin Islander, Guinean, Surinamese, Myanma, etc. Avoid linking to articles about ethnicity, such as [[Nigerians|Nigerian]] or [[Filipinos|Filipino]].
- style: use either Orthodox or Southpaw. Do not include specialised techniques such as switch hitter or peek-a-boo, as these are not stances.
- losses: include a "0" even if a boxer is undefeated
- draws: leave blank if they have not had any draws, as the first three fields render this one redundant
- no contests: also leave blank if they have none
Lead section
The lead section should include basic information about the boxer and an overview of their notable accomplishments. Below are several examples depending on whether a boxer currently holds, or has held, a world/regional title, whether they are active or retired, or which variety of English is preferable:
- Example Athlete 1 (born January 1, 1980) is an American professional boxer and the current IBF middleweight champion.
syntax
'''Example Athlete 1''' (born 1 January 1980) is an American [[professional boxer]] and the current [[International Boxing Federation|IBF]] [[middleweight]] champion.
- Example Athlete 2 (born 1 February 1990) is a British professional boxer. He is the current WBA light-heavyweight champion and a former WBC super-middleweight champion. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the light-middleweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
syntax
'''Example Athlete 2''' (born 1 February 1990) is a British [[professional boxer]]. He is the current [[World Boxing Association|WBA]] [[light-heavyweight]] champion and a former [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] [[super-middleweight]] champion. As an [[amateur boxing|amateur]] he won a gold medal in the [[light-middleweight]] division at the [[2010 Commonwealth Games]].
- Example Athlete 3 (born March 1, 1970) is a Mexican former professional boxer who held the WBO junior heavyweight title.
syntax
'''Example Athlete 3''' (born March 1, 1970) is a Mexican former [[professional boxer]] who held the [[World Boxing Organization|WBO]] [[junior heavyweight]] title.
- Example Athlete 4 (born 1 April 1995) is a German professional boxer who fights at welterweight.
syntax
'''Example Athlete 4''' (born 1 April 1995) is a German [[professional boxer]] who fights at [[welterweight]].
- As with the infobox, avoid linking commonly known nationalities such as [[United States|American]] or [[Mexican people|Mexican]]
- Use "former" instead of "retired", as a retired boxer may still be in some form of employment regardless of their age
- Use "[nationality] former professional boxer" instead of the grammatically incorrect "former [nationality] professional boxer", as boxers are unlikely to become former citizens of a country, or made stateless
- Do not pipe "professional boxer" or "amateur boxer", i.e. [[professional boxing|professional boxer]] / [[amateur boxing|amateur boxer]], as this discouraged by WP:NOTBROKEN. Also avoid splitting the links, i.e. [[professional boxing|professional]] [[boxing|boxer]].
- Hyphenate weight classes if a boxer is based anywhere outside the US. Within the US, regardless of their nationality, omit any hyphens.
- If a boxer has won titles by only one sanctioning body in a weight class, check the website of that sanctioning body to see which format they use, then reproduce it in accordance with MOS:CAPS
- If a boxer has won titles by multiple sanctioning bodies in the same weight class, default to Wikipedia's own neutral article name to avoid cruft and confusion, e.g. "WBC and IBF light middleweight" instead of "WBC super welterweight and IBF junior middleweight"
- For the WBC's "Silver" and "Diamond" titles, use these formats: [[World Boxing Council#WBC Silver|WBC Silver]], [[World Boxing Council#Diamond Championship|WBC Diamond]], which render as "WBC Silver" and "WBC Diamond"
- For WBA's "Super" and "Regular" titles, use these formats: [[World Boxing Association#Super titles|WBA (Super)]], [[World Boxing Association#Super titles|WBA (Regular)]], which render as WBA (Super) and WBA (Regular)
- For interim titles, use this format: "[[World Boxing Organization|WBO]] [[interim championship|interim]] [[lightweight]] title", which renders as "WBO interim lightweight title".
- Regardless of sanctioning body naming formats, weight classes are not proper nouns, therefore they should always be rendered in lower case, e.g. "light welterweight", not "Light Welterweight". The same applies to the words "title", "champion[ship]" and "lineal".
- Notable wins or opponents should not be included in the lead section as that does not represent a concise overview of the article, it does not present a neutral point of view and there is no objective way to determine what makes a victory notable. If you believe that a single notable victory should be added for a specific boxer, first discuss it in the article's talk page or in the talk page of this WikiProject to determine by consensus whether or not that information should go in the lead section.
- Trainers, promoters or managers should not be listed, but can be mentioned in the Professional career section
Early life / Background
An Early life or Background section should begin with a title of ==Early life== or ==Background== to outline the fighters' life before boxing. Include the details of their childhood: place of birth, sibling information, parents' occupation is optional. Trainers with whom they worked, as well as boxing gyms attended, should be included here. Recent details such as information on the fighter's other careers, their marriage(s), children, pets, etc. should go in a Personal life section instead.
Amateur career
If a boxer fought as an amateur, list any highlights, notable opponents, and final amateur record if reliably sourced. Also describe any participation at such events as the Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games, European Amateur Boxing Championships, World Amateur Boxing Championships, Summer Olympic Games, etc.
References
Articles should be thoroughly referenced, with least a BoxRec profile; Template:Boxrec can be used. The list of references can be automatically included in the References section by including a {{Reflist}} tag immediately below the section heading.