Boxing / Guide 07
Legal punches and target area
World Boxing · 2024In short
What counts as a scoring blow? · Permitted targets
What counts as a scoring blow?
A punch must land cleanly with the knuckle surface of the glove, have body or shoulder weight behind it, and break no rule. The judge must see it clearly. Merely touching the opponent, striking a guard or landing with the wrong part of the glove does not meet these criteria.
Permitted targets
The target area includes the front and sides of the head and torso above the beltline. The back of the head, neck, throat, spine, lower back and areas below the beltline are excluded. The number of scoring blows is the first judging criterion; quality matters when numbers are close.
Independent explanations and translations, not official federation publications. Independent explanations of the supplied World Boxing Competition Rules, in force November 2024. These are World Boxing rules, not a universal rulebook for professional boxing. Event regulations may differ. References use PDF viewer page numbers; guide numbers are editorial.
Sources & approach ↗
Sources & approach ↗