ERA VII. THE BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY ERA (1981-1999)
Over the years, Boxing has gone from being an unsanctioned, unruled battle of pure brutality to a “Sweet Science” of skill. The many rule changes from the 1800’s till now have made Boxing much safer and more enjoyable to watch and participate in.
The sport began with no Round time limits. The only way a Round could end was to knock down your opponent. There was no limit on how many Rounds a fight could go. Some early bouts went over 100 Rounds! That means someone may have been knocked down 50, 60, 70 or more times and as long as he kept getting up, he could keep fighting!
The sport began with very few rules. Wrestling an opponent down, kicking, eye gouging, head butting and even low blows were mainly overlooked! Over the years, thanks to the London Prize Ring Rules and the Marquess of Queensbury Rules many of those things were ruled illegal. The addition of padded gloves and mouth pieces made great strides in keeping the combatants safe, but there were still changes needed.
The 80’s brought forth many positive changes and these changes will be included in this Era:
Boxing match
A boxing match consists of a determined number of three-minute rounds, a total of up to 12 rounds (formerly 15). A minute is typically spent between each round with the fighters in their assigned corners receiving advice and attention from their coaches. The fight is controlled by a referee who works in the ring to judge and control the fight, rule on the ability of the fighters to fight safely, count knocked-down fighters, and rule on fouls.
Deciding the winner
There are three judges at ringside to score the fight and assign points to the boxers, based on connecting punches, defense, knockdowns, and other subjective measures—such as who lands the more accurate punches (e.g., a punch that lands squarely on the opponent's chin versus one that lands on the shoulder and then continues through to the head). Because of the open-ended nature of judging, there have been many controversial rulings.
If the fight goes to the conclusion of the scheduled number of rounds without a knockout or technical knockout, then the fighter with the higher score at the end of the fight is ruled the winner and the three judges rule it as A) a unanimous decision, B) a split decision, or C) a draw.
Win by technical knockout (TKO)
A "technical knockout" (TKO) is possible as well, and is ruled by the referee, fight doctor, or a fighter's corner if a fighter is unable to safely continue to fight, based upon injuries or being judged unable to effectively defend himself. There is also the "three-knockdown rule", in which three knockdowns in a single round result in a TKO. A TKO is considered a knockout in a fighter's record.
Standing eight count
A "standing eight" count rule is also in effect. This gives the referee the right to step in and administer a count of eight to a fighter that he feels may be in danger, even if no knockdown has taken place. After counting the referee will observe the fighter and decide if he is fit to continue. For scoring purposes, a standing eight count is treated as a knockdown.