Asian Games 2022: Rules and Regulation of age-old sport "Boxing"

Published at :August 15, 2023 at 11:07 AM

Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 5:47 PM

Nikhat Zareen will spearhead the Indian contingent at the Asiads

The 19th edition of Asian Games 2022, which was previously delayed due to spare of Covid-19 is all set to commence from 23rd September to 8th October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. A 13-member boxing team spearheaded by Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain will be representing the Indian flag at the mega event.

With the Asian Games 2022 being around the corner let us understand the basic rules and format of boxing in this article.

Since the introduction of Boxing to its program in 1954 the game has been contested at every Asian Games. However, Boxing shares its long-standing history with the evolution of the Olympics and is now considered one of the most popular sporting disciplines in the world.

The Essence of Boxing

The essence of boxing is simple – to try and land punches on the opponent’s head or torso by using the knuckle area of the fist whilst dodging the opponent’s hits.

A boxer scores points from every successful hit they land.
Boxers wear protective gloves to avoid injuries and hitting the opponent anywhere below the belt or on the back of the head is prohibited.
In Olympic boxing bouts, both men and women compete in matches that consist of three rounds, each lasting three minutes.
There’s a one-minute break between each round.
Boxers can win in two ways: by knocking out their opponent or by scoring more points.

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Victory via Knock Out or KO

When a boxer lands a sufficient number of legal hits on their opponent, causing them to fall to the boxing ring floor, and the opponent is not able to get up before the referee counts to 10, it is called a knockout (KO) win for the boxer who caused the knockdown.

In case of a KO, the bout ends immediately, and the winner is declared.

Victory via points

In Olympic boxing, if a match goes all three rounds, the winner is decided by points.

Five judges seated ringside score boxers based on hits on target areas, match control, techniques, tactics, and competitiveness.
Deductions can occur for rule violations.
At the end of each round, judges choose a round winner based on these criteria.
After the bout, judges total the round scores to declare the overall winner.

If all five judges agree that one boxer won at least two rounds, it’s a unanimous decision win for that boxer. And, in situations where the judges have a difference in opinion, the majority consensus is taken into account and the winner is determined through a split decision.

World Boxing Federation

The rules and regulations for the bouts are governed by an independent body -World Boxing Federation. With the advancement of technologies new ways of regulating the bouts are also indeed to enhance the review system. Therefore, the World Boxing Federation has introduced the use of technology and AI-driven (Artificial Intelligence) tool to eliminate & improve scoring errors. The Bout Review System of the World Boxing Championships has been the talk of the town.

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