Professional Boxing Rules & Regulations

Boxing is a sport with colorful characters and a violent history. It is hard to forget a moment such as Mike Tyson biting the ear off Evander Holyfield. The World Boxing Association (WBA) works hard to promote the sport in a brighter light. The WBA focuses on loyalty, ethics, honesty and morality in the sport and implements rules necessary to help boxing rise from the ashes of the more controversial moments.

  1. The Weigh In

    • Boxers must complete the weigh in between 16 and 30 hours before the fight. The scale used is available to the boxers two hours before the weigh in. If one of the boxers fails to make weight, he has two hours to make the weight. A boxer who does not make weight can be fined, demoted or suspended. If a champion fails to make weight, the challenger wins the title by forfeit.

    Basic Rules of the Fight

    • Sanctioned boxing matches will last 12 rounds. Each round will last three minutes with one minute of rest in between. There will be judges scoring the fight using a 10-point scoring system. The winner of each round gets 10 points and the loser a lesser number based on how he fought. Scores cannot be lower than 10 to 7 unless the referee docks points or law mandates it.

    Knockdown

    • A boxer is considered knocked down when any part of his body except his feet touch the mat because of a legal blow. When a boxer is knocked down, the referee sends the other boxer to his corner and starts the 10 count. If the boxer does not rise by the 10 count, he is the loser by knockout. If a boxer goes down three times in one round, it is an automatic knockout. The end of the round cannot save a knocked down boxer and the count continues after the bell.

    Fouls

    • The following are fouls in boxing: hitting an opponent below the belt or behind the ear, hitting an opponent who is knocked down, holding onto an opponent, wrestling or kicking, headbutting, kidney shots, rabbit punches to the back of the head or neck, jabbing the eyes, cursing, hitting on the break, biting, spitting and crouching below the opponents belt. All infractions result in docked points and a possible disqualification.