New to the sport, or want to settle an argument? Here's the plain-English guide: how fights are won and scored, what all those belts actually mean, the weight divisions, and the styles fighters use.
A professional fight is scheduled for a set number of three-minute rounds (championship fights are 12). It can end early or go the distance.
Ways to win early: KO (knockout — a fighter is down and can't beat the referee's ten-count); TKO (technical knockout — the referee stops it, or a corner pulls their fighter out, often shown as RTD "retired"); or a DQ (disqualification for fouling).
If it goes the distance, three ringside judges decide it using the 10-point must system: the winner of a round gets 10 points, the loser usually 9. A knockdown (or a very one-sided round) makes it 10-8. Add up the rounds and you get a decision:
• UD — unanimous decision (all three judges agree)
• MD — majority decision (two for, one scores a draw)
• SD — split decision (two judges one way, one the other)
• Draw — scores level (can be unanimous, majority or split)
Boxing has four main sanctioning bodies, each with its own world title per division. That's why one weight class can have four "world champions" at once — and why "undisputed" is such a big deal.
The four bodies whose belts are recognised as world titles: the World Boxing Council, Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization. Hold one and you're a world champion.
Awarded by The Ring magazine, not a sanctioning body. It follows the "man who beat the man" lineage, so it's often treated as the most prestigious, purest championship.
A fighter who holds two or more of the four major belts at the same time in one division.
Holds all four major belts (WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO) at once — the outright number one, and rare. See who's done it on the Champions page.
The bodies muddy the water with extra belts: the WBA has long had a "regular" champion alongside its main "super" champion; "interim" titles are stand-ins when a champion is inactive; and the WBC "franchise" title is a special status. They dilute the meaning of "world champion" — hence boxing's belt confusion.
Fighters are matched by weight so no one has an unfair size advantage. There are 17 men's divisions, from the tiny minimumweights to the unlimited heavyweights.
| Division | Weight limit |
|---|---|
| Minimumweight (strawweight) | 105 lb |
| Light Flyweight | 108 lb |
| Flyweight | 112 lb |
| Super Flyweight | 115 lb |
| Bantamweight | 118 lb |
| Super Bantamweight | 122 lb |
| Featherweight | 126 lb |
| Super Featherweight | 130 lb |
| Lightweight | 135 lb |
| Super Lightweight (light welterweight) | 140 lb |
| Welterweight | 147 lb |
| Super Welterweight (light middleweight) | 154 lb |
| Middleweight | 160 lb |
| Super Middleweight | 168 lb |
| Light Heavyweight | 175 lb |
| Cruiserweight | 200 lb |
| Heavyweight | no limit (200 lb+) |
Explore who rules each one right now on The Landscape.
Most fighters lean towards one of these. The classic drama of boxing is styles clashing — a pressure fighter hunting a slick boxer, a counter-puncher waiting on a slugger.
Wins with the jab, footwork and distance — hit and don't get hit. Think Muhammad Ali, Pernell Whitaker, Vasyl Lomachenko.
Big power, less finesse — looking to land the one shot that ends it. Think George Foreman, Deontay Wilder.
The best of both: the skills to box and the power to hurt you. Think Lennox Lewis, Canelo Álvarez, Sugar Ray Robinson.
Relentless forward march, fighting up close and breaking you down. Think Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, Roberto Durán.
Patient — makes you miss, then makes you pay. Think Floyd Mayweather, Juan Manuel Márquez.
Orthodox = left foot forward; southpaw = right foot forward (a lefty), awkward for most opponents; a switch-hitter can fight from both.
Jab — the lead straight punch, boxing's most important shot. Cross — the straight power hand. Hook — a bent-arm shot from the side. Uppercut — rising shot up the middle.
Clinch — holding to smother work or get a breather. On the ropes / on the back foot — being pushed back. Rope-a-dope — deliberately covering up on the ropes to tire an opponent (Ali's Rumble tactic).
Pound-for-pound (P4P) — a mythical ranking of who's best regardless of weight. Mandatory — a challenger a champion is obliged to fight. Purse — a fighter's pay for the night.