From back-alley bare-knuckle fights, backyard boxing rings and lawless gambling on the fringe of public events, the history of Darwin's underground boxing scene has remained unrecorded for more than a century.

Now with pro wrestling making its debut in the Territory, the underbelly origins of both sports are coming to light.

Pro wrestling is regularly ridiculed for its drama-fuelled theatrics and manipulated results, however according to promoter Brad Jones these elements are a reminder of the performance sport's evolution.

Mr Jones, who wrestled in Perth under the name Brad West, said bringing the sport to Darwin was a challenge he was excited to see through.

Brad Jones is excited to see pro wrestling in the Territory. ( ABC News: Gabrielle Lyons )

"From all my research, it's really hard to find any signs of pro wrestling ever happening here," he said.

But he believed its history goes back to the days of carnivals and outback boxing tents.

"I romanticise about those old-school wrestlers standing on boxes out front of a tent calling for locals to jump in the ring.

"The origins of pro wrestling definitely hark back to those crazy carny folks, which I love, and it surprises me that history isn't obvious in the Territory."

Reason being, newspapers refused to report on boxing in the Territory, meaning so much of Darwin's sporting history has been forgotten.

'Unseemly and ungentlemanly'

Dr Stephen says little was documented of this fight at the Labour Day picnic in Darwin in the late 1800s. ( Supplied: NT Archives Service )

Dr Matthew Stephen has dedicated his studies uncovering the Territory's sporting history, but when it came to boxing and wrestling, he said evidence became more sparse at the end of the 1800s.

"Early newspaper reports had listings from editors stating that they would no longer be advertising fights or prize fights," he said.

"They deemed the sports ungentlemanly and unseemly — one even eluded to a death.

"This didn't stop fights from being organised ... for a time, boxing was very much an underground activity."

Dr Stephen said even now very little was known of Darwin's first boxing champions.

"Because papers refused to support the sport, men resorted to printing small ads challenging other amateur fighters, so we don't have records of who won, but we know it drew a crowd.

"It was all about the side bets and gambling — everyone had stakes in these public fights."

Locals organised fights by posting ads in the newspaper. ( Supplied: Trove )

'Children would start the bouts'

Darwin experienced one of its first population booms around the outset of World War I and the introduction of Vesteys Meatworks.

The associated influx of men fuelled boxing's rise, Dr Stephen said.

"The first public amateur boxing event in the Territory happened at what was known as the Don Theatre — it was open-air and showed pictures, but started hosting boxing events near weekly.

"Children would start the boxing bouts, mostly Aboriginal children, just swinging at each other and it was seen to be a hoot.

"Newspapers started to refer to boxing names around this time, because suddenly the local men thought of themselves as performers."

Dr Stephen says the boxers often considered themselves as local celebrities. ( Supplied: Australian War Memorial )

With the crowds came gambling and cigarettes.

"They would file in by the hundreds, but when the war ended, the numbers dropped and the sport yet again diminished," Dr Stephen said.

"Between the wars, when locals still wanted to make money from boxing and wrestling, many resorted to building rings in their own yards and again called for challengers in the paper."

'You know where it is'

During World War II, Darwin was once again filled with soldiers looking for entertainment.

Dr Stephen said the local army newspapers would list upcoming boxing events and draw crowds by the thousands.

"The barracks based near Noonamah had a theatre that sat 3,000 people ... easily as many people would be standing to watch the boxing and wrestling," he said.

"But as a security measure, in the paper it would read, 'You know where it is', just in case the Japanese discovered where large masses of men were gathering.

Boxing was a popular pastime for men based in Darwin during the war. ( Supplied: State Library of Victoria )

"There was still an elusiveness to contact sports during the war, they relied on word of mouth, but gambling was still the influencer keeping the competitions popular."

It wasn't until the 1950s that boxing and wrestling were more widely accepted in the Territory.

Dr Stephen said the influence of the Olympics introduced professionalism to both sports.

"The outlaws stopped, organisations started to take control," he said.

"Darwin suddenly had a wave of interest in boxing as an organised sport — boxers were no longer amateur."

Matthew Stephen's PhD study focused on sports and race in the Northern Territory. ( ABC News: Neda Vanovac )

Will boxing ever return underground?

Dr Stephen said he believed the acceptance boxing might not last.

"Boxing has always been violent — wrestling in America once included eye gouging, so in order to remain popular the excess violence had to be removed," he said.

"But in a time when we regularly discuss contact sport and concussions, I think boxing could be on the chopping block.

"In the future I think it could return to an underground scene of fighters."

However, he agreed with Mr Jones that pro wrestling would continue to have a "glorious future in a world dominated by reality TV".

"When you come along to see pro wrestling in the form it is now, we aren't pulling the wool over your eyes, this is a unique performance event unlike any other sport in the world," Mr Jones said.