🥊Rules Boxing

English boxing (the sport simply called boxing) pits two opponents of the same weight category against each other using only gloved fists, inside a square roped ring. Punches are allowed only with the front of the glove and above the belt. The bout is fought in rounds separated by one-minute breaks. The goal is to score more points than the opponent through clean, accurate punching, or to win before the limit by stopping the opponent. Two main families exist: amateur (Olympic) boxing and professional boxing, which differ in duration, equipment and some rules.

Land clean, legal punches on the opponent's allowed target areas (front and sides of the head, front of the torso above the belt) while avoiding being hit, in order to win on points by the end of the bout or to win early by knockout, referee stoppage or retirement.

• •You may strike only with the front of the closed glove, never with the inside of the hand, the edge, the head, the elbow or the shoulder.
• •Punches must stay above the belt; hitting below the belt, on the back (rabbit punch) or on the back of the neck is forbidden.
• •You never hit an opponent who is down, nor during the referee's count.
• •On the command "Break", both boxers step back before resuming the exchange.
• •No holding, pushing or wrestling: this is boxing, not grappling.
• •A round ends at the bell; a punch landed after the bell does not count and may be penalised.

Boxing uses the 10-Point Must System: at the end of each round, every judge awards 10 points to the boxer who won the round and 9 (or fewer) to the other. A close round is scored 10-9; clear dominance or a knockdown gives 10-8; two knockdowns or total dominance give 10-7. Judges assess clean punches landed on legal target areas, ring generalship, defence and effective aggression. Penalties decided by the referee deduct points (usually 1 point) from the round total. At the end, each judge's totals are added up to determine the winner.

Olympic boxing (World Boxing): 3 rounds of 3 minutes, men and women, with a 1-minute break between rounds. Professional boxing: typically 4 to 12 rounds of 3 minutes depending on level, with a world title fought over 12 rounds. The bout takes place in a ring roughly 4.9 to 7.3 m per side. The number of judges varies (often 3 in pro, up to 5 in amateur). Round duration may be reduced to 2 minutes in some women's or youth competitions depending on the federation.

You win: on points (unanimous, split or majority judges' decision) at the end of regulation time; by knockout if the opponent does not rise before the count ends; by referee stoppage (TKO in pro, RSC in amateur) if a boxer can no longer defend himself; by retirement of the boxer or his corner (throwing in the towel); or by disqualification of the opponent. A draw is possible in pro boxing if the judges' totals are equal.