Section 0145-02-.13 - KNOCKDOWN AND KNOCKOUT(1) A contestant shall be deemed "down" when:(a) Any part of his or her body, except his or her feet, is on the ring floor;(b) He or she is rising from a down position; or(c) He or she is hanging helplessly over the ropes; provided, however, that a boxer hanging over the ropes is not officially "down" until so pronounced by the referee.(2) When a contestant is knocked down, the timekeeper shall immediately rise and announce the elapsed seconds; and the referee shall promptly order the opponent to retire to the farthest neutral corner. The referee shall then return to the fallen contestant and audibly announce the count as he or she motions with his or her right arm downward indicating the end of each second. Should the opponent fail to remain in the neutral corner farthest for the boxer who is down, the referee shall cease counting until he or she has returned to it, and then continue the count from the point at which it was interrupted.(3) A contestant who is knocked down must take a count of eight (8) whether or not he or she has regained his or her feet before the count has been reached. If when the count of eight (8) is reached the contestant is on his or her feet, the referee shall wipe any accumulated resin from his or her gloves, and may examine him or her sufficiently to assure himself or herself that the contestant is physically fit and mentally alert enough to continue. If so assured, the referee shall, without loss of time, order the contestants to resume boxing.(4) If the contestant taking the count is still down when the referee calls the count of ten (10), the referee shall wave both arms, indicating that the contestant has been knocked out. When a round other than a final round shall terminate while the referee is administering the count to a contestant who has been knocked down, the count shall be continued. The timekeeper shall not ring the bell until and unless such contestant rises before the count of ten (10) and the referee orders him or her to resume boxing. If the fallen contestant shall fail to rise before the count of ten (10), he or she shall be declared the loser by knockout in the round just concluded.(5) Should a boxer slip, fall down, or be pushed down, he or she shall be ordered to his or her feet immediately. Failure to rise may subject him or her to disqualification.(6) A contestant who has fallen through the ropes and out of the platform ring as a result of a legal blow during the contest may not be helped by anyone, and the referee shall start the count, which in this special case will be twenty (20) seconds. Should the contestant fail to re-enter the ring before the count of twenty (20) seconds, the referee shall wave both arms to indicate that he or she has been knocked out and shall raise the hand of the opponent as the winner.(7) When a boxer has been knocked out, none of his or her seconds shall touch him or her until the attending physician enters the ring and personally attends the fallen boxer, and issues such instructions as he or she deems appropriate to the boxer's seconds.(8) There is no standing eight (8) count.(9) There is no three (3) knockdown rule.(10) A boxer who has been knocked down cannot be saved by the bell in any round.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0145-02-.13
Emergency rules 0145-01 through 0145-05 filed November 7, 2008; effective though April 21, 2009. Emergency rule filed April 20, 2009; effective through October 2, 2009. New rule filed March 17, 2009; effective May 31, 2009. Amendments filed July 13, 2023; effective 10/11/2023.Authority: Chapter 1149 of the Public Acts of 2008, § 2; Tennessee Athletic Commission Act of 2016; and T.C.A. §§ 68-115-201 and 68-115-203.