What is Boxing?

Boxing is a sport and martial art in which 2 participants of similar weight fight each other with their fists in a series of 1 to 3-minute intervals called "rounds". In both Amateur and Professional divisions, the combatants (called boxers or fighters) avoid their opponent's punches while trying to land punches of their own.

Points are awarded for clean, solid blows to the legal area on the front of the opponent's body above the waistline, with hits to the head and torso being especially valuable. The fighter with the most points after the scheduled number of rounds is declared the winner.

Victory may also be achieved if the opponent is knocked down and unable to get up before the referee counts to 10 (a Knockout, or KO) or if the opponent is deemed too injured to continue (a Technical Knockout, or TKO).  For record-keeping purposes, a TKO is usually counted as a knockout when calculating the total knockouts. A TKO can occur at any time.

Boxing is also known as 'Prizefighting' (when referring to Professional Boxing) or the 'Sweet Science' (a common nickname among fans).