What Is Boxing?

Boxing is a combat sport where two people are wearing gloves and fight using only their fists. They are fighting inside a boxing ring where they will try to knock out their opponent for a certain time in a round. Every round usually takes 3 minutes long with 1 minute break after each round. The number of rounds on every match is based on what title these boxers are fighting for.

Every match has a referee that will supervise the match. The boxer should knockout his opponent and makes him unable to continue the match anymore for the other boxer to win. Another way to win is to finish the match and wait for the Judges’ decision. Amateur boxing is popular all over the world. It’s both an Olympic and Commonwealth sport and very common in international games and has its own World Champions.

Professional boxing started in the early 20^th century when this sport was slowly regulated and made as a kind of sport. The bouts during those years happen in United States and Britain. But later on, boxing on United States became more popular and it became the center of professional boxing. After 1920, an association named National Boxing Association (NBA) was later on established to sanction “title fights”. NBA was later renamed to World Boxing Association (WBA) in the year 1962. Then another body was established in the year 1983 and was called International Boxing Federation (IBF).

Starting on the 21^st century, a boxer should be acknowledged by the three bodies to call as the “Undisputed World Champion”. Professional boxing match are longer than the amateur ones. Professional boxing also doesn’t allow any protective gear except for the gloves unlike Amateur boxing where a boxer can wear a protective head gear. This time, professional boxing is more popular than amateur boxing because most of the best boxers are fighting as a professional boxer.

Boxing Rules

NOT ALLOWED DURING THE MATCH:

• hit below the belt

• hold, trip

• kick

• headbutt

• wrestle

• bite

• spit on

• push your opponent

• hit with your head

• hit with your shoulder

• hit with your forearm

• hit with your elbow

• Punching on opponent’s back, or the back of his head or neck (rabbit punch), or on the kidneys (kidney punch).

• Punching while holding on to the ropes.

• Holding the opponent and hitting him at the same time

• Ducking lower than the opponent’s belt

BASIC BOXING RULES

• Take a full step back when the referee breaks you from a clinch. Then you cannot hit your opponent immediately after the break and that is called “hitting on the break”. It’s very illegal on this sport.

• After scoring a knockdown to your opponent, go to the nearest neutral corner as the referee will make the count.

• You cannot hit an opponent that you “floor” while he is on the canvas.

• The floored boxer has only 10 seconds to get back on his feet before losing the bout by the way of knockout.

• The boxer who is knocked down cannot be saved by the bell in any round.

• Any boxer who is hit by an accidental blow will be given 5 minutes to recover but if he can’t recover after that time then he/she will be considered knocked out.

• A foul that causes an injury and makes the fight to end immediately will make the boxer who committed the foul disqualified.

• But if there is a foul with injury and the fight still continues, then the boxer who committed the foul will be deducted two points by the judges.

• “No contest” will be ruled to the unintentional foul that causes the fight to be stopped and if the 4 rounds are not yet completed. If the 4 rounds are already completed then the winner will be the one with most points during those rounds. If the score is even then it will be called as a “technical draw”.

• A boxer that is knocked out of the ring will be given 20 counts to get back in the ring and on his feet without the help of anyone.

• In some jurisdictions the standing eight-count or the three knockdown rule also may be in effect.
• In other jurisdictions, only the referee can stop the bout.