Item 13: The Referee

1. Primary concern:        the care of the boxer is the primary concern of the referee.
2. Duties:                         the referee shall officiate in the ring.  He shall be dressed in dark blue trousers, light blue shirt and light shoes or boots without raised heels, bow tie (black) shall be won, but in tropical climates may be dispensed with if the Chairman of Jury of Chairman of R/J commission agrees.  He may use surgical gloves when officiating.  The referee shall;

1. See that the rules and fair play are strictly observed
2. Maintain control of the contest al all its stages.
3. Prevent a weak boxer from receiving undue and unnecessary punishment.
4. Check the gloves and dress
5. He shall use 3 words of command;

   a) “Yoot” (“Stop”) when ordering the boxers to stop fighting

   b) “Chok” (“Box”) when ordering them to continue. 

   c) “Yak” (“Break”) when breaking a clinch, upon which command each boxer shall step back before continuing fighting.

6. He shall indicate to a boxer by suitable explanatory signs of gestures any infringement of the rules.
7. At the end of a contest collect and check the papers of the 5 judges where applicable; after checking he shall hand these papers to the President of the Jury, or on occasions when there is no Jury, to the announcer.
8. The Referee shall not indicate the winner, by raising a boxer’s hand or otherwise, until the announcement has been made.  When the winner of the bout is announced, the referee shall raise the hand of the winning boxer.
9. When the referee has disqualified a boxer or stopped the bout, he shall first inform the President of the Jury which boxer has been disqualified or the reason for which he has stopped the bout, to enable the President to instruct the announcer to make the decision correctly known to the public

3. Powers of the referee. The referee is empowered:

1. To terminate a contest at any stage if he considers it too one-sided.
2. To terminate a contest at any stage if one of the boxers has received an injury on account of which the referee decides he should not continue.
3. To terminate a contest at any stage if he considers the contestants are not in earnest.  In such case he may disqualify one or both contestants.
4. To caution a boxer or to stop the fight during a contest and administer a warning to a boxer against fouls or for any other reason in the interests of fair play, or to ensure compliance with the rules.
5. To disqualify a boxer who fails to comply immediately with his orders, or behaves towards him in an offensive or aggressive manner at any time.
6. To disqualify a second who has infringed the rules, and the boxer himself if the second does not comply with the referee’s orders
7. With or without previous warning, to disqualify a contestant for committing a serious foul.
8. In the event of a knock-down, to suspend a count, if a boxer deliberately fails to retire to a neutral corner or delays to do so.
9. To interpret the rules insofar as they are applicable or relevant to the actual contest to decide and take action on any circumstance of the contest which is not covered by a rule.

4. Warning:          if a boxer infringes the rules but does not merit disqualification for such infringement, the referee shall stop the contest and shall issue a warning to the offender.  As a preliminary to a warning, the referee shall order the boxers to stop.  The warning shall be clearly given and in such a way that the boxer understands the reason and the purpose of the warning.  The referee shall signal with his hand to each of the judge that a special warning has been given and shall clearly indicate to them the boxer whom he has warned.  After giving the warning, the referee shall order the boxers to “CHOK”.  If a boxer is given 3 warnings in a contest, he shall be disqualified.
5. Cautions:         a referee may caution a boxer. A caution is in the nature of advice or admonition given by the referee to a boxer to check or prevent undesirable practices of the less serious infringements of the rules.  To do so he will not necessarily stop the contest but may avail of a suitable safe opportunity during a round to admonish a boxer for an infringement of the rules.  
6. Medical Considerations:         a referee, before officiating in any international tournament conducted under these rules shall undergo a medical examination as to his physical fitness for carrying out these duties in the ring.  His vision shall be at least 6 dioptres in each eye.  The wearing of spectacles by a referee during the progress of a bout is not permitted, but contact lenses are allowed.  It will be compulsory for the referee to take part in a meeting before each Championship, arranged by the Medical Jury.