Boxing sport began in Turkey as an activity at individual level. Boxing competitions carried out by foreign soldiers during the occupation of Istanbul between 1918 and 1923 made this sport popular that spread fast. The first boxing club was established by the Ottoman Jew Aksiyani Efendi under the licence of the French Boxing Federation in the 1920s. This followed by boxing sections established by footballers of major clubs such as Fenerbahçe S.K., Galatasaray S.K. and Kurtuluş SK.