Amateur Boxing is a important part of our Club. We’ve been developing fighters from the first day we opened our doors and are proud to have won over 8 Provincial Golden Gloves Titles and a National Title. Here we will talk about a few important aspects of so that you can get a good fundamental understanding of the basics of amateur boxing.
1. Scoring system
The scoring system used for amateur boxing games is designed such that only the clean blows are recognized and scored instead of the damage that each blow renders.
A clean blow is one that lands cleanly on the designated scoring points. To score, a boxer must land a clean contact with the knuckles of their glove either on the head or on the body above the belt. Judges award scores by hitting the button of computer scoring system for each blow. Three out of the five ringside judges must hit the button in no less than one second apart for the point to be awarded.
During an infighting (when the fighters are fighting up close with many punches), scores are awarded to the player who throws the better punches or exchanges. Points are not awarded for punches that do not land on the white strip on the knuckle part of the gloves or those that lack weight.
2. Rounds
Depending on which sports body is sponsoring the amateur boxing game, the number of minutes per round varies between two to three minutes. Nonetheless, the number of rounds remain the same.
For the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games, there are 3 rounds that last three minutes each. For other bouts, however, such as those sponsored by the Amateur Boxing Association, there are just two minutes for each bout. The boxer must move fast before the fight is over!
3. Protective gear
Boxers are required to use protective headgear. Gloves have a white stripe around the knuckles. Official gloves weigh only 10 ounces and should have the standard white strip.
4. Officials
The main official in the ring is the referee who monitors the conduct of the players. They also takes care of maintaining fair play as well as regulating movement in the ring. They also address all violations in the ring.
5. Weight Categories
Unlike professional boxing, amateur boxing only has the basic weight divisions. They consist of the following (from the lightest weight divisions to the heaviest weight divisions):
- Light Flyweight
- Flyweight
- Bantamweight
- Featherweight
- Lightweight
- Light Welterweight
- Welterweight
- Middleweight
- Light Heavyweight
- Heavyweight, and
- Super Heavyweight
6. The Winner
The winning boxer is determined by the number of points regardless of the power of the blows, except on bouts where the referee stopped the game for a foul TKO or KO. In case of a tie, the judges will deduct the worst and best scores from the total score of the boxer. The winner is the one with most points left.
Now that you know the basics, strap on your gloves, and get fighting.
