Jab
The straight punch from the lead hand. It measures distance, breaks the opponent's rhythm and opens up everything else: the most thrown punch and the one that decides who controls the fight.
Glossary
The ring glossary
The 42 terms you need to follow any boxing broadcast without getting lost: the punches, the rules, how scoring works, what each belt means and how the business behind it runs. Every definition stands on its own.
The punches
07Cross
A straight punch from the rear hand that crosses over the opponent's jab. The basic power punch and the natural finisher of almost every combination.
Hook
A curved lateral punch at short and mid range with the elbow bent. The punch that produces the most knockouts when it lands clean on the jaw.
Uppercut
A rising punch thrown up the inside of the guard. Punishes fighters who crouch too low or come in head first.
Combination
A chained series of punches. Numbered by convention: 1 is the jab, 2 the cross, so a "one-two" is a jab followed by a straight.
Body work
Punches to the torso, above all the liver and the ribs. They rarely knock anyone out quickly, but they drain the legs: the effects show in the late rounds.
Counterpunch
A punch thrown right after slipping the opponent's, taking advantage of their hand still being out and their guard open.
Defence and movement
07Guard
The position of the hands and body. High protects the head, low invites the opponent in to be countered; every boxer has their own.
Orthodox
A boxer who stands with the left foot and hand forward, the usual stance for a right-hander. It is the default and the one almost everyone trains against.
Southpaw
A boxer who stands with the right hand forward. It flips every angle in the fight, which is why many orthodox fighters are uncomfortable against one.
Slip
Moving the head off the line of a punch by turning the trunk, without blocking. Leaves the opponent exposed and is the doorway to the counter.
Clinch
Holding at close quarters to stop the action and recover. Legal, but the referee breaks it and abusing it costs points.
Footwork
How a boxer moves to get in, get out and cut off the ring. Good footwork wins rounds without throwing a single extra punch.
On the ropes
Being caught with your back on the ropes and no room to retreat. Almost always a bad sign; some boxers seek it deliberately to tire the opponent.
Rules and scoring
13Round
Each period of the fight: three minutes for men, two for women, with a minute's rest. World titles are contested over twelve.
10-9
The standard score for a round: 10 to the winner, 9 to the loser. Each judge scores independently, round by round.
10-8
A round won with a knockdown, or with dominance so clear the judge treats it as one. A single 10-8 can decide a close fight.
Standing count
The count to eight the referee gives after a knockdown to check whether the boxer can continue. If they are not ready at ten, it is a knockout.
KO
Knockout: the boxer goes down and does not get up before the referee reaches ten.
TKO
Technical knockout: the referee, the doctor or the corner stops the fight without a ten count because one boxer can no longer defend themselves.
Unanimous decision
All three judges score the fight for the same boxer.
Split decision
Two judges score it for one boxer and the third for the other. Where almost every controversy is born.
Majority decision
Two judges score it for the same boxer and the third scores a draw.
No contest
The fight is stopped for something other than legal punches, such as a cut from a head clash or an injury, before enough rounds have been completed to go to the cards. It counts as neither a win nor a loss.
Point deduction
A referee's penalty for a repeated foul: low blow, headbutt, holding. Turns a 10-9 round into a 10-8 and reshuffles the scorecards.
Weigh-in
The weight check the day before the fight. Missing the limit costs the title, which only the opponent can then win, and part of the purse.
Catchweight
A limit agreed between both camps that matches no official division. It lets boxers from different weight classes meet, but no world title is at stake.
Titles and sanctioning bodies
08The four sanctioning bodies
WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO: the four federations whose belts count as world titles. Each has its own champion, rankings and rules, which is why one division can have four champions at once.
Undisputed
A champion who holds all four major belts in their division at the same time. The hardest thing to achieve in the sport: there are rarely more than two or three in all of boxing.
Who is undisputed right now →Unification
A fight between two champions of the same division in which their belts are combined. The step before becoming undisputed.
Vacant title
A belt with no owner, because the champion gave it up, moved up in weight or was stripped for not defending it. Contested between the top two in the rankings.
Today's vacant belts →Interim champion
A belt a sanctioning body creates when its champion has been inactive for a long time. In theory the interim champion faces the full champion; in practice it mostly serves to sell another fight.
Mandatory challenger
The top-ranked contender of a sanctioning body, entitled to demand a title shot. If the champion ducks them for too long, they can lose the belt without fighting.
Lineal champion
The one who beat the one who beat the one: the line of succession outside the sanctioning bodies. No federation awards it, though The Ring magazine recognises it with its own belt.
Pound for pound
An imaginary ranking that compares boxers of different weights as if they weighed the same. It awards nothing, but it is the ranking people argue about most.
Champions by division →The business
07Main event
The headline fight of the night, the last one and the one that sells the card.
Headline events on the schedule →Undercard
The fights before the main event. Where prospects are seen before they get expensive, and often better fights than the headliner itself.
The full card of every fight night →Co-main event
The second most important fight, right before the main event. Usually the one that convinces the undecided to pay for the card.
Promoter
Whoever puts on the show, puts up the money and negotiates with broadcasters. Two boxers having rival promoters is the most common reason a fight does not get made.
PPV
Pay-per-view: the event is bought separately, even if you already subscribe to the platform showing it. Reserved for the biggest fights.
What costs extra in each country →Purse
What each boxer is paid. In the biggest fights it is topped up with a share of PPV sales, which can multiply the announced figure.
Face-off
The photo of both boxers nose to nose at the press conference or the weigh-in. Pure theatre, but it is the image half the card gets sold on.
Missing one? This glossary grows by hand and gladly: write to mgigo.sa@gmail.com with the term you miss.