The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. Until 1948, it had a

colour bar Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Intern ...

in effect by means of its Rule 24, which stated that title contestants "must have two white parents". The British Boxing Board of Control initially refused to grant Jane Couch a professional licence on the sole ground that she was a woman, and argued that

PMS Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) refers to emotional and physical symptoms that regularly occur in the one to two weeks before the start of each menstrual period. Symptoms resolve around the time menstrual bleeding begins. Different women experienc ...

made women too unstable to box. Claiming sexual discrimination and supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission, Couch managed to have this decision overturned by a

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a s ...

in March 1998.

Councils

The Board divides the country into seven Area Councils: the Scottish Area, the Northern Ireland Area, the Welsh Area, the Northern Area, the Central Area (including the

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), the Southern Area, and the Midlands Area. There was previously a Western Area, which was merged with the Southern Area.

Lonsdale Belt

The Board also sanctions bouts for British boxing's most prestigious title: the Lonsdale Belt. The Lonsdale Belt is awarded to the champion of the

in each respective weight class and to win the belt outright it must be defended against a British challenger on at least three occasions.

Scoring

The Board is known for its unique scoring system. Except for title fights (where the bout is scored by three judges, none of whom serve as fight referee), the referee is the sole scorer. After the bout (if the fight goes to

points decision A points decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. Unlike normal decisions where there are three judges that agree on whic ...

), the referee hands his decision to the MC and the winner is announced, the referee then raising the arm of the winner – or, in the event of a draw, both boxers' arms.

Champions

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:British Boxing Board Of Control Boxing in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Cardiff Professional boxing organizations

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

1929 establishments in the United Kingdom