The referee in boxing is the individual charged with enforcing the rules of that sport during a match.
The referee has the following roles:
In the past, referees were involved in judging the fight. However, that role has been progressively replaced by a panel of judges, except for domestic fights in some countries.
Normally, a white or blue Oxford shirt is worn either long-sleeved or short-sleeved, as well as black slacks, black leather shoes and a black bow tie. Latex gloves are sometimes worn for sanitary reasons. For professional matches a patch is usually worn on the left breast bearing the insignia of the organization sanctioning the fight. The referee may also wear a patch on his left sleeve bearing the flag of his home country. This is especially common in matches between fighters from two countries.
The main critique involves the subjective nature of boxing refereeing; there are guidelines for referees, but enforcement of the rules still involves judgement.
Boxing is a combat sport and a martial art in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined amount of time in a boxing ring.
Muay Thai, sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "Art of eight limbs", as it is characterised by the combined use of fists, elbows, knees and shins. Muay Thai became widespread internationally in the late 20th to 21st century, when Westernised practitioners from Thailand began competing in kickboxing and mixed-rules matches as well as matches under Muay Thai rules around the world. The professional league is governed by The Professional Boxing Association of Thailand (P.A.T.), sanctioned by The Sports Authority of Thailand (S.A.T.).
The Marquess of Queensberry Rules, also known as Queensbury Rules, are a code of generally accepted rules in the sport of boxing. Drafted in London in 1865 and published in 1867, they were named so as the 9th Marquess of Queensberry publicly endorsed the code, although they were written by a Welsh sportsman named John Graham Chambers from Llanelli, Carmarthenshire. The code of rules on which modern boxing is based, the Queensberry rules were the first to mandate the use of gloves in boxing.
Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC title again from 2005 to 2006. He was ranked as a top 10 heavyweight by BoxRec from 2000 to 2005, and reached his highest ranking of world No.6 at the conclusion of 2004.
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titles depending on the sport, including umpire, judge, arbiter (chess), commissaire, or technical official. Referees may be assisted by umpires, linesmen, timekeepers, touch judges, or video review officials.
In association football, the referee is the person responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. The referee is the final decision-making authority on all facts connected with play, and is the match official with the authority to start and stop play and impose disciplinary action against players and coaches during a match.
A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt.
Lethwei or Burmese boxing is a full contact combat sport from Myanmar that uses stand-up striking including headbutts. Lethwei is considered to be one of the most brutal martial arts in the world, as the sport is practiced bareknuckle with only tape and gauze while fighters are allowed to strike with their fists, elbows, knees, and feet, and the use of headbutts is also permitted. Disallowed in most combat sports, headbutts are important weapons in a Lethwei fighter's arsenal, giving Lethwei its name of the "Art of nine limbs". This, combined with its bareknuckle nature, gave Lethwei a reputation for being one of the bloodiest and most violent martial arts. A vast majority of Lethwei fighters originate from the Karen ethnicity.
The World Combat League (WCL) was a full contact, team-based kickboxing promotion. It was founded by movie star and martial artist Chuck Norris.
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory authority to guarantee the fighters' safety. Most high-profile bouts obtain the endorsement of a sanctioning body, which awards championship belts, establishes rules, and assigns its own judges and referees.
Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on November 12, 1993. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view and later released on home video.
In professional wrestling, a referee is an authority figure present in or near the ring during matches. The referee's purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts, that is, as an arbiter of the rules and the person charged with rendering decisions. In reality, the referee is, like the wrestlers, a participant in executing a match in accordance with its script including its pre-determined outcome, and is responsible for controlling the flow of the match and for relaying information or instructions from backstage officials to the wrestlers. Like wrestlers, referees are also responsible for maintaining kayfabe, and must render decisions in accordance with the promotion's kayfabe rules.
Felix Bwalya was a Zambian boxer who won a gold medal at the 1991 All-Africa Games and competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. As a professional, he became African champion and went 12–1 on his way to winning the Commonwealth belt. Nicknamed "The Hammer", he captured the African Boxing Union light welterweight and Commonwealth super lightweight titles in 1995 and 1997 respectively, the latter after a controversial victory over Briton Paul Burke in Lusaka. Bwalya subsequently died from head injuries sustained in the fight.
Most rule sets for mixed martial arts (MMA) competitions have evolved since the early days of Vale Tudo. As a result of health, legal, and moral concerns, many different rulesets were created, which give different countries and promotions very different tactics and strategies. Similarly, shoot wrestling organizations, such as Shooto, expanded their rulesets to integrate elements of Vale Tudo into their sport. However, for the most part, fighters accustomed to one rule set can easily acclimate to the others.
Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) is the first and only professional mixed martial arts promotion based in the Philippines. Its inaugural event was held at the Casino Filipino Amphitheater in Parañaque, Philippines on November 23, 2002. The URCC is under the supervision of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), the government agency that sanctions games such as billiards, boxing and basketball. The URCC was founded in 2002 by Filipino BJJ Black belt [[Alvin Aguilar] ]Franz von Muhlfeld, Jed Dario and Irwin Tieng. The matches and events of the URCC aired on ABS-CBN Sports and Action and ABS-CBN Sports and Action HD, URCC's official broadcast partner.
Frank Capcino, better known by his ring name Frank Cappuccino, was a boxing referee best known for having officiated over some of the most famous boxing matches in history.
A points decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. Unlike normal decisions where there are three judges that agree on which fighter won the match, the fight is scored by the referee, who determines who wins the bout.
The Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting (WXC) is a Michigan-based mixed martial arts promotion and is one of the smallest promotions in the world. Based in the United States, the WXC has eight weight divisions and enforces the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Norbert Pasztor serves as the president of the WXC.
In combat sports, a decision is a result of the fight or bout that does not end in a knockout, submission or other finish, in which the (usually) three judges' scorecards are consulted to determine the winner; a majority of judges must agree on a result. The judges' result can either award a win, loss, or draw.