Boxing in four minutes

Boxers may only punch, with closed gloves, to the front and sides of the head and body above the belt line. No kicks, no grappling, no hitting the back of the head or below the belt.

Pro rounds are three minutes with a one-minute rest.

• Fights are scheduled for 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 rounds.
• World title fights are 12 rounds. They were 15 until the 1980s.
• Women's pro fights have mostly been two-minute rounds, though some recent title fights have gone 12 rounds of three minutes.

Boxing happens in a roped, square ring (the name stuck from the days of chalk circles). Pros usually wear 8- or 10-ounce gloves, depending on weight class and commission, plus a mouthguard and a protective cup. The referee is in the ring; three judges sit at ringside.

A right-handed boxer usually stands orthodox: left foot and left hand forward, power hand (the right) at the back. A southpaw does the opposite, right foot forward. Southpaws are rarer, which is part of why they're awkward to fight.

Nearly everything in boxing is built from four punches. Trainers number them, so "1-2" means jab, cross. Tap to flip.

Boxers slip (move the head off line), roll under hooks, block and parry with the gloves, and clinch (tie up the opponent's arms) until the referee breaks them apart. Footwork does the rest: the best defense is not being where the punch lands.