The Ring was founded in 1922 by Nat Fleischer. The first issue, dated February 15, 1922, and was 24 pages and cost 20 cents. The cover of the first issue featured black and white photographs of American promoter Tex Richard and Lord Lonsdale, a member of British aristocracy and boxing patron. Originally located in New York City, the magazine relocated to Long Island, New York, in 1990, and then moved to its current location.

The Ring has had five owners throughout its history: Nat Fleischer and family, Dave DeBusschere and Nick Kladis, Stanley Weston, Nick Karabots, and now Oscar De La Hoya.

There have been only seven editors-in-chief in the magazine's history. The Ring began awarding championship belts in 1922. The first Ring belt was awarded to heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, the second to flyweight champion Pancho Villa. The magazine stopped giving belts to world champions in the 1990s, but began again in 2002 when it launched its new championship policy intended to reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given weight class.