North Carolina Administrative Code
Title 14B - Public Safety
Chapter 10 - BOXING AUTHORITY
Section .0500 - BOXING
Section 10 .0503 - SCORING - BOXING

Universal Citation: 14B NC Admin Code 10 .0503

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024

(a) Rounds in a boxing match shall be as follows:

(1) The length of each round of a match shall be three minutes with one minute rest intervals between rounds.

(2) A match shall be scheduled for four, six, eight, or 10 rounds.

(3) A championship match shall be scheduled for 12 rounds and shall be sanctioned by a sanctioning organization.

(b) The following rules apply to scoring of boxing matches:

(1) Scoring shall be by the "10 point must" system. The winner of any round shall be awarded 10 points. The loser of any round shall be awarded one to nine points. When a round is even, each contestant shall be scored 10 points.

(2) The awarding or deducting of points by the judges and referee, the determination as to the occurrence of knockdowns, knockouts and fouls and the procedure to be used following such occurrence shall be accomplished in the following manner and based on the following criteria, which criteria is listed in the order of importance:
(A) The only fair punch is a punch delivered with the padded knuckle part of the glove to the front or side of the head or body above the belt, and the contestant who delivers such a punch shall be awarded points in proportion to its damaging effects.

(B) A clean knockdown shall be highly scored. A knockdown is scored as soon as it occurs. The contestant who takes advantage of the full nine-second count shall be credited with ring generalship that would not be credited to him if he arose immediately and, in a groggy condition, tried to continue. If he arises before the count of nine and handles himself well, either aggressively or defensively after he is on his feet, he shall be credited with ring generalship. If the contestant who is down arises during the count, the referee may, if he deems it advisable, step between the contestants for such period of time to assure himself that the contestant who has just arisen is able to continue. When so assured, he shall, without loss of time, order both contestants to proceed with the match. The following shall be used to determine when a knockdown has occurred and the procedure to be followed after a knockdown has occurred:
(i) A contestant shall be considered to be knocked down when:
(I) Any part of his body, other than his feet, is on the floor;

(II) He is hanging helplessly over the ropes;

(III) He is rising from a down position; or

(IV) At the conclusion of a round in a match, he leaves the ring and fails to be in the ring when the bell sounds indicating the beginning of the next round.

(ii) When a contestant is knocked down, the referee shall order the opponent to retire to the farthest neutral corner of the ring by pointing to that corner and shall immediately begin a 10-second count over the contestant who is down. He shall announce the passing of the seconds, accompanying the count with a downward motion of his arm. The knockdown timekeeper, by effective signaling, shall provide the referee the correct one second interval for his count. The referee's count is the official count.

(iii) If the contestant taking the count is still down when the referee calls the count of 10, the referee shall wave both arms to indicate that the contestant has been knocked out, provided however, that if the contestant is counted out by virtue of his failure to be in the ring when the bell sounds indicating the beginning of the next round, the match shall be terminated and the contestant who was counted out shall be declared the loser by technical knockout.

(iv) If a contestant is knocked down and is down at the time the bell rings to end the round, the knockdown timekeeper shall continue to count. If the downed contestant fails to rise before the count of 10, he shall be considered to have been knocked out in the next subsequent round. If a contestant is knocked down and is down at the time the bell rings in the final round, the knockdown timekeeper shall cease the count and the contest shall be deemed to be concluded.

(v) If both contestants are knocked down at the same time, counting shall be continued as long as either remains down.

(vi) A contestant who has been knocked down shall take a count of eight whether or not he has regained his feet before the count of eight has been reached. The referee may, if in his opinion a contestant has been dazed or hurt but remains standing, administer a standing eight-count. A standing eight-count is considered a knockdown.

(vii) If a contestant who is down arises before the count of 10 is reached, and then goes down immediately, without being struck, the referee shall resume the count where he previously stopped counting.

(viii) When a contestant is knocked out, the referee shall perform a full 10 second count before terminating the match, provided however that if, in the opinion of the referee or physician, the contestant requires immediate medical attention, the referee shall not be required to count to 10.

(ix) If a contestant is knocked out of or has fallen out of the ring the referee shall allow the contestant no more than 20 seconds, to re-enter the ring without the assistance of anyone, provided however, that if the contestant was knocked out of the ring as a result of a legal technique and is unable to regain his feet, the referee shall consider this to be a knockdown and shall begin a 10 second count. The opponent shall be ordered to retire to the furthest neutral corner, where he shall remain until signaled by the referee to continue with the match. If a contestant intentionally falls through the ropes, his seconds shall not assist him and, the contestant shall be considered to have been knocked down and the appropriate count and procedures for knockdowns shall be initiated by the referee. If a contestant, enters the ring and immediately goes down, the referee shall begin a 10 second count or shall continue a 10 second count started after the contestant was knocked out of the ring. Any contestant who does not immediately re-enter the ring shall be deemed to have been knocked down and the appropriate count and procedures used in the event of a knockdown shall be used. If, in the opinion of the referee, the contestant has been dazed or hurt but remains standing, the referee shall administer a standing eight-count.

(x) If the contestant who is not down and who has been ordered to a neutral corner fails to stay in the neutral corner the referee and knockdown timekeeper shall cease the count and shall not resume the count until the contestant has retired to the neutral corner.

(xi) If a towel is thrown into the ring when a contestant is down, the towel shall be ignored and the referee and knockdown timekeeper shall continue to count as if it had not appeared.

(c) If a contestant slips, falls down or is pushed down, the referee shall order him to his feet immediately.

(d) The following rules apply to the determination of a win or draw:

(1) A contestant who knocks out his opponent shall be declared the winner of the match.

(2) If both contestants are knocked down at the same time and both contestants remain down until the count of 10, the match shall be considered a technical draw.

(3) A contestant who is awarded a technical knockout shall be declared the winner of the match.

(4) A contestant who is knocked down three times in any one round shall be considered to have lost the match by a technical knockout. If requested by a sanctioning body, this Rule shall be waived for a championship fight.

(5) When the winner of a match is to be determined by the number of points awarded or deducted or by the number of rounds awarded to each contestant, the scores for all rounds shall be compiled for each judge and the following criteria shall be used:
(A) Three wins shall be declared a win;

(B) Two wins and one draw shall be declared a win;

(C) Two wins and one loss shall be declared a win;

(D) One win and two draws shall be declared a draw;

(E) One win, one draw and one loss shall be declared a draw;

(F) One win and two losses shall be declared a loss;

(G) Three draws shall be declared a draw;

(H) Two draws and one loss shall be declared a draw;

(I) One draw and two losses shall be declared a loss; and

(J) Three losses shall be declared a loss.

(6) A contestant shall not be declared the winner of a match on a claim of low blow foul and a contestant shall not lose a match by reason of a low blow foul.

(7) No contestant shall be awarded a match based on an unintentional foul unless the foul was unintentional butting. If a match is temporarily halted because of an unintentional foul, the referee shall determine whether the contestant who has been fouled can continue. If the referee determines that the contestant can continue, the referee shall order the match to be continued. If the referee determines that the contestant is unable to continue the match as a result of an unintentional foul other than for butting, the match shall be terminated but no decision shall be rendered by the referee, who shall order the purses of both contestants withheld. The Division representative shall then rule as to the disposition of the purses based on the prior contractual agreement between the promoter and the contestants. If no such contractual provision exists, then the purses shall be disposed of as follows: If the unintentional foul occurs in any round during the first half of the match, the purses shall revert back to the promoter. If the unintentional foul occurs in any round during the second half of the match, the Division representative shall award the purses in accordance with the determination of win, loss or draw based upon the score cards of the judges. If a contestant is unintentionally butted in a match so that he cannot continue, the referee shall declare the result of the match using the following criteria:
(A) If the unintentional butt occurs prior to the scoring of the third round and the fouled contestant is unable to continue, the result shall be a technical draw.

(B) During a four or six round match, if the unintentional butt occurs in any round subsequent to the scoring of the third round or occurs prior to the scoring of third round but the contestant is not determined to be unable to continue until after the scoring of the third round, the determination of win, loss or draw shall be based upon the score cards of the judges.

(C) During an eight round match, if the unintentional butt occurs in any round subsequent to the scoring of the fourth round or occurs prior to the scoring of fourth round but the contestant is not determined to be unable to continue until after the scoring of the fourth round, the determination of win, loss or draw shall be based upon the score cards of the judges.

(D) During a 10 round match, if the unintentional butt occurs in any round subsequent to the scoring of the fifth round or occurs prior to the scoring of fifth round but the contestant is not determined to be unable to continue until after the scoring of the fifth round, the determination of win, loss or draw shall be based upon the score cards of the judges.

(E) During a 12 round match, if the unintentional butt occurs in any round subsequent to the scoring of the sixth round or occurs prior to the scoring of sixth round but the contestant is not determined to be unable to continue until after the scoring of the sixth round, the determination of win, loss or draw shall be based upon the score cards of the judges.

(8) When an injury is produced by a fair punch but because of the severity of the injury the match cannot continue, the injured contestant shall be declared the loser by a technical knockout.

Authority G.S. 143-652.1;
Temporary Adoption Eff. January 1, 1996;
Recodified from 18 NCAC 09 .0104(o)-(p)(3) Eff. April 1, 1996;
Eff. April 1, 1996;
Transferred and recodified from 18 NCAC 09 Eff. November 8, 2002;
Amended Eff. March 1, 2008 (recodified from 14A NCAC 12 .0107);
Transferred from 14A NCAC 12 .0503 Eff. June 1, 2013;
Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. January 9, 2018.

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