Amateur vs. Professional Boxing
Same sport, different styles
Although amateur and professional boxing are basically the same sport, they do have quite a few differences between them, besides the money factor. Even when early boxing matches were held over 150 years ago, there was often a monetary prize awarded. It may have only gone to the winner, but nevertheless, it was a prize, which is why old-time boxing was often known as prizefighting. Here are some of the differences between amateur and pro boxing:
Head gear
In professional boxing, the fighters don't wear head gear during a match, but they do wear it when sparring. Amateurs always wear head gear during a match.
Rounds
In professional matches, the rounds are three minutes long and the bouts can last anywhere between four and twelve rounds.
In the amateurs, the bouts are either three or four rounds long. In the four-round fights, the rounds are two minutes long.
Objective
When fighting for money, you usually want to get the job done as quickly as possible; this is why many professional boxers go for the knockout.
In amateur boxing, the objective is to score points. You still can knock your opponent out, but you don't receive a point for a knockdown.
Ring
There are no set rules for the size of a boxing ring in the professional ranks. Amateur rings have a minimum size of 16 x 16 feet and a maximum of 20 x 20 feet.Scoring
In professional boxing, each round is scored by the judges on a 10-point system. This means the winner of the round must be given 10 points, while the loser of the round must be given 9 points or less. An even round would be 10 - 10. However, sometimes points are deducted from a boxer by the referee because of fouling. In this case, you could see a 9 - 9 round or a 9 - 8 round and so on.
In amateur boxing, there are either three or five judges who use an electronic tally counter or something similar to keep track of the number of legal scoring blows by each boxer. One device is used for each boxer. At the end of the round, the number of scoring punches is added up, and at the end of the bout, the boxer who scored the most legal punches is declared the winner. In some amateur competitions, a draw is also possible.
Effective punching
In professional boxing, you may hit your opponent above the belt, as long as it is on the side or front of the head or body. It's illegal to strike somebody on the back of the head or in the kidneys.
A scoring blow in amateur boxing must land directly with the knuckle part of the closed glove on the front or side of the opponent's head or body and must also be above the belt.
Winning
There are various scenarios by which you can win a boxing match. For the differences in winning amateur and pro matches, see the "Ending an Amateur Match" page and the "Ending a Professional Match page."Professional boxing has several organizations that set up rules, rank boxers and sanction title fights, but boxing is also regulated by state commissions in the United States. Amateur boxing is generally looked over by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), which is a Swiss organization that has almost 200 member countries. This organization also governs Olympic boxing.
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