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A guide to the Olympic sport of Boxing

Technical details

The boxing ring must be no greater than 6.10 metres square and must be at least 91cm above the ground. There are four corner posts, two are white with the others red and blue, which are diagonally opposed. The floor is covered in canvas laid over a felt of rubber padding.

Boxers wear leather, padded gloves, which are standardised and provided by the Organising Committee. Each glove weighs 283gm (10oz) and has a white strip - introduced in 1972 - to mark the main hitting area. Competitors can also wear bandages underneath the gloves to give support and stop bones from getting damaged. These are also provided by the organisers.

Competitors wear red or blue vests to denote their 'corner' and shorts must be at least mid-thigh length. Boxers also wear headguards, gumshields and cup protectors.

In Olympic competition, competitors are not allowed to have a beard, only a thin moustache is permitted.

They box three rounds of three minutes each, with one minute between rounds.

Each fight is judged by five judges who register the clean punches into a computer, within one second of the punch.

Boxers must pass their medical examination and must have "made their weight" for their category. In Olympic competition, boxers are weighed on the opening day and every day of competition.

The boxing bouts are controlled by a referee and there are also five judges and a jury.

If a boxer is knocked down the referee begins to count to 10, with one second between each number, concluding with "out" if the boxer fails to resume the contest. A referee can also insist on a mandatory count of eight even if the boxer gets up to resume the contest when he is knocked down.

The judges score the contest. Points are awarded to a boxer for hits with the knuckled part of the glove on the front or sides of his opponent's head or body above the belt.

At the Olympic Games, there is an electronic scoring device and points are only awarded if three of the judges push their buttons within one second of the punch being landed.

At all weights the competition is a straight knock-out draw. There is no third or fourth place bout. Two bronze medals are awarded at each weight.

Olympic history

Boxing was part of the Ancient Olympic Games, it was not at the first 'modern' Olympic Games in 1896. The Athens organisers ruled boxing out because it was "ungentlemanly, dangerous and practised by the dregs of society". Boxing was introduced officially in 1904, where there was also a demonstration of women's boxing.

	Check for more on: Guide Boxing Olympics

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