Traditional boxing techniques with a professional boxing trainer, train as the professionals do without the ring.

Boxing is a combat sport and martial art in which two people fight using their fists for competition. Boxing is typically supervised by a referee engaged in during a series of one- to three-minute intervals called rounds, and boxers generally of similar weight. There are four ways to win; if the opponent is knocked out and unable to get up before the referee counts to ten seconds (a knockout, or KO) or if the opponent is deemed too injured to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO), if an opponent is disqualified for breaking a rule, or if there is no stoppage of the fight before an agreed number of rounds, a winner is determined either by the referee's decision or by judges' scorecards.

Amateur boxing

Amateur boxing may be found at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sanctioned by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing has a point scoring system that measures the number of clean blows landed rather than physical damage. Bouts consist of three rounds of three minutes in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and three rounds of three minutes in a national ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) bout, each with a one-minute interval between rounds.

Competitors wear protective headgear and gloves with a white strip across the knuckle. A punch is considered a scoring punch only when the boxers connect with the white portion of the gloves. Each punch that lands cleanly on the head or torso with sufficient force is awarded a point. A referee monitors the fight to ensure that competitors use only legal blows. A belt worn over the torso represents the lower limit of punches – any boxer repeatedly landing low blows (below the belt) is disqualified. Referees also ensure that the boxers don't use holding tactics to prevent the opponent from swinging. If this occurs, the referee separates the opponents and orders them to continue boxing. Repeated holding can result in a boxer being penalized or ultimately disqualified. Referees will stop the bout if a boxer is seriously injured, if one boxer is significantly dominating the other or if the score is severely imbalanced.^[14] Amateur bouts which end this way may be noted as "RSC" (referee stopped contest) with notations for an outclassed opponent (RSCO), outscored opponent (RSCOS), injury (RSCI) or head injury (RSCH).

Protective equipment

Amateur boxers are required to have headgear and a sleeveless shirt in the color of their corner, while professionals fight bare-chested and without headgear. Female boxers in amateur ranks are allowed a short sleeved shirt, whereas professionals wear a sleeveless shirt. All female boxers are allowed a chest protector. All boxers are required a mouthpiece, the construction of which is up to the sanctioning body and the fighters. All boxers in sanctioned bouts are required to have a foul protector, which protects the groin and lower abdomen. Female foul protectors have less padding in the groin, but are still required in sanctioned bouts. All boxers also wear gloves, ranging in weight from 8-16oz in amateur bouts and 6-12oz in professional bouts. Amateurs are bound by an approved glove, whereas professional boxers have only a minimum weight of glove, the exact weight and even brand can be determined in the negotiations prior to the fight. Gloves are subject to inspection both by the representatives of the sanctioning body and the opposing fighter's corner prior to a fight. They are then taped on the laces to prevent them from coming loose, and are usually signed by the representative of the sanctioning body to assure no tampering has taken place. Boxers are also required to have handwraps. USA Boxing allows re-usable cotton handwraps with a hook and loop closure, whereas most professional fights require adhesive, one time use wraps. Wraps are also subject to inspection, a notable example being the fight between Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito, where a plaster like substance was found in the wraps of Margarito, resulting in his suspension for "at least a year." In modern-day professional boxing, it is mandatory for males to wear a waistband wrapped around their upper thighs and the lower waist. This waistband is usually black or red and is made of rubber (sometimes leather) in order to cushion the body from deadly shots towards the male's most vulnerable body part—the pelvis. However, it is still possible to suffer from a blow to the pelvis despite having the waistband; depending on the strength of the punch. The waistband gets bent and twisted during fights and often sticks out of the boxer's shorts which causes the boxer's belly to be slightly squeezed. Before the 1980s, the waistband was much smaller and therefore; allows more damage onto the boxer's pelvis.

Notes

References

• Accidents Take Lives of Young Alumni (July/August 2005). Illinois Alumni, 18(1), 47.
• Boxing equipment
• Death Under the Spotlight: The Manuel Velazquez Boxing Fatality Collection
• Fleischer, Nat, Sam Andre, Nigel Collins, Dan Rafael (2002). An Illustrated History of Boxing. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2201-1
• Fox, James A. (2001). Boxing. Stewart, Tabori and Chang. ISBN 1-58479-133-0
• Godfrey, John "Boxing" from Treatise Upon the Useful Science of Defense, 1747
• Gunn M, Ormerod D. The legality of boxing. Legal Studies. 1995;15:181.
• Halbert, Christy (2003). The Ultimate Boxer: Understanding the Sport and Skills of Boxing. Impact Seminars, Inc. ISBN 0-9630968-5-0
• Hatmaker, Mark (2004). Boxing Mastery: Advanced Technique, Tactics, and Strategies from the Sweet Science. Tracks Publishing. ISBN 1-884654-21-5
• McIlvanney, Hugh (2001). The Hardest Game: McIlvanney on Boxing. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-658-02154-0
• Myler, Patrick (1997). A Century of Boxing Greats: Inside the Ring with the Hundred Best Boxers. Robson Books (UK) / Parkwest Publications (US). ISBN 1-86105-258-8.
• Price, Edmund The Science of Self Defense: A Treatise on Sparring and Wrestling, 1867
• Robert Anasi (2003). The Gloves: A Boxing Chronicle. North Point Press. ISBN 0-86547-652-7
• Schulberg, Budd (2007). Ringside: A Treasury of Boxing Reportage. Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 1-56663-749-X
• Silverman, Jeff (2004). The Greatest Boxing Stories Ever Told: Thirty-Six Incredible Tales from the Ring. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-59228-479-5
• Scully, John Learn to Box with the Iceman
• U.S. Amateur Boxing Inc. (1994). Coaching Olympic Style Boxing. Cooper Pub Group. 1-884-12525-5
• A Pictoral History Of Boxing, Sam Andre and Nat Fleischer, Hamlyn, 1988, ISBN 0-600-50288-0