Rule changes in British boxing took into account not only shifts in societal norms but the inescapable fact that the sport was illegal. The primary task of proponents was to reconcile a putatively barbaric activity with a civilizing impulse. According to English law, as reported in William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–69), “a tilt or tournament, the martial diversion of our ancestors is an unlawful act: and so are boxing and sword playing, the succeeding amusements of their posterity.” Perceived by the courts as a throwback to a less-civilized past, prizefighting was classified as an affray, an assault, and a riot. However, widespread public support for boxing in England led to legal laxity and inconsistency of enforcement.