What Are the Rules for Professional Boxing in the United States?

Professional boxing in the United States has a number of rules in order to guarantee a fair match and legitimate results. These rules developed over the course of the 20th century in an effort to provide more efficiency and safety for the fighters. Other countries use different systems in scoring and time frame than the United States.

    Features

    • When a boxer is knocked to the floor, he has 10 seconds to return to his feet. Likewise, if a boxer is knocked out of the ring, he has 20 seconds to return to within the ropes and stand on his feet.

    Significance

    • Fouls can occur from low blows or hits with parts of the body other than fists. The fighter who commits the foul can either be disqualified or suffer a point deduction.

    Considerations

    • If a fight is stopped before the fourth round because of an unintentional foul, the match is considered to be ruled a "no contest." In the case of a four-round fight, three rounds must be completed. When the contest goes longer than four rounds and is stopped, the scorecards for each fighter are tallied by the judges to provide a technical decision. In the event of a tie, the bout is considered a "technical draw."

    Features

    • In the United States, three judges are positioned at ringside to record points for each fighter. According to the scoring system, at least one fighter must garner 10 points for each round. The referee has the right to deduct points based on penalties and stop the fight if necessary.

    Time Frame

    • By 1987, boxing federations limited fights to 12 rounds. This resulted from the death of Duk Koo Kim, who was killed in a 15-round fight in 1982 with Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini.