Boxing is an Atari game that offers a top-down view of two boxers – one white and one black. The objective is to land punches on the opponent by pressing the fire button on the Atari joystick when close enough. A successful punch causes the opponent to stagger slightly. Long punches score one point, whereas powerful punches landed up close score two points (as mentioned in the manual). There are no rounds or knockdowns in the game. A match ends when one of the players lands 100 punches (a “knockout”) or after two minutes have elapsed (a “decision”). In the case of a decision, the player who has landed the most punches is declared the winner. It is also possible for the match to end in a tie.
Although the gameplay is simple, there are subtle nuances to the game, such as maneuvering the opponent towards the ropes and then juggling them back and forth with alternate punches.