How Boxing works

There are several routes to victory, and the distinction between them matters — a knockout and a points win look nothing alike on a record. Most professional bouts that go the distance are decided by three judges scoring independently.

• Knockout — a downed fighter fails to rise within ten seconds
• Technical knockout — the referee, doctor or corner stops the fight
• Decision — judges' scorecards after the final round
• Disqualification — repeated or serious fouls

Each round is scored separately. The judge gives the winner of the round ten points and the loser nine, or fewer if they were knocked down. A round scored 10–10 is rare and discouraged. This means a fighter can dominate ten rounds narrowly and still lose to two knockdowns.

• Round winner gets 10, loser 9
• A knockdown costs an extra point: 10–8
• Two knockdowns in a round: 10–7
• Unanimous, split and majority decisions describe how the three judges agreed

The rules on where and how you may hit are strict, and the referee deducts points for repeated violations. Fouls are common enough that a good referee shapes the fight as much as the judges do.

• Legal target — front and sides of the head and body above the belt
• No hitting below the belt, behind the head or on the kidneys
• No headbutting, holding, elbowing, or hitting a downed opponent
• No punching with the inside of the glove, the wrist or an open hand

Fighters are matched by weight because the advantage of size is otherwise decisive. Professional boxing recognises seventeen divisions from minimumweight up to heavyweight, weighed in a day before the bout — which has produced the practice of severe dehydration and rehydration around the weigh-in.

• Seventeen professional divisions from 105 lb upwards
• Heavyweight has no upper limit
• Missing weight can forfeit a title even in victory
• Amateur and Olympic boxing use fewer, broader classes

A fighter who touches the canvas with anything other than their feet is down. The referee sends the opponent to a neutral corner and counts to ten; the downed fighter must rise and demonstrate readiness before eight. Three knockdowns in a round ends the fight in some jurisdictions, though the rule is applied inconsistently.

Olympic boxing is a different sport in practice: three rounds rather than twelve, larger gloves, and scoring built around the volume of clean punches rather than damage. Bouts are shorter and more open, and fighters who dominate the amateur code often need years to adapt to the professional one.

• Three rounds of three minutes
• Standing counts are used more readily
• Scoring rewards clean, visible landing over accumulated damage