2119 FOULS

2119.1 No contestant shall commit any of the following fouls:

1. (a) Hitting the opponent below the belt;
2. (b) Hitting an opponent who is down or who is rising after being down.
3. (c) Holding the opponent with one hand and hitting the opponent with the other hand.
4. (d) Holding the opponent or deliberately maintaining a clinch.
5. (e) Wrestling with or roughing the opponent to maintain a clinch;
6. (f) Punching the opponent after being instructed to stop fighting, as when the opponent is helpless and leaning on the ropes to avoid falling;
7. (g) Hitting the opponent with the head, elbow, or knee;
8. (h) Hitting the opponent with an open glove, including the inside of the hand, the back of the hand, or the wrist;
9. (i) Intentionally going down without being hit, to avoid a blow:
10. (j) Using a pivot blow or rabbit punch, including hitting the back of the opponent's neck near the base of the skull;
11. (k) Using a kidney punch, including hitting the part of the back near the spine and over the kidneys;
12. (l) Hitting the opponent's eye with the thumb of the glove;
13. (m) Using the ring ropes to deliver a punch.
14. (n) Using abusive language in the ring; or
15. (o) Engaging in any unsportsmanlike trick or action that injures the opponent.

2119.2 The referee shall determine whether or not a foul has been committed.

2119.3 Upon determining that a foul has been committed, the referee may take the following actions:

1. (a) Warn the contestant that the contestant has committed the foul;
2. (b) Assess a scoring penalty against the contestant who has committed the foul, as set forth in § 2118.5;
3. (c) Disqualify the contestant who committed the foul;
4. (d) Stop the contest; or
5. (e) Take any other action that the referee deems appropriate not inconsistent with these rules.

2119.4 The referee shall determine whether a fouled contestant can continue. If the referee decides the fouled contestant can continue, but needs a reasonable time to recover, the referee shall interrupt the contest and instruct the timekeeper.

2119.5 When the referee has disqualified a contestant for an intentional foul, the contestant shall not take part in a contest for thirty (30) days following the day of the contest in which the contestant was disqualified.

2119.6 When the referee determines that a contestant has committed a foul intentionally, the Commission shall order that contestant's purse be withheld pending a final decision as to whether the purse is forfeited.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 3731, 3741-43 (May 20, 1988).