Roman mosaic with boxing match. Athletes wear one of the dangerous variations of the ancient boxing "gloves", the myrmekes, which with their lethal spikes, could cause permanent damage or a fatal outcome; the boxer on the left bleeds from the abdomen, while the one on the right raises his knee to keep his distance.
The use of such offensive "boxing gloves" in some events organized in the imperial age led to the violent and brutal extremeization of Greek boxing competitive competitions. We know little of the changes and technical developments and regulations, which the use of this kind of tool required to comply with the logic of these athletic events; The mosaic is dated to 300-350 AD. and is located in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier, Germany.