What does TKO in boxing mean?

Professional boxing is an extremely complicated, very intricate sport, often ambiguous sport, which is reflected in its many methods of victory.

A professional boxer’s record may read as Win-Lose-Draw, but there’s much more involved behind those three results.

One thing that stands out clearly on a boxer’s record is when they possess knockout wins, but consisting of a mixture of KO and TKO.

Whether you’re an avid boxing fan or just a casual admirer of the sport, not understanding the difference between these two forms of knockout results is completely reasonable and forgivable.

So for devoted fans and interested parties alike, here is a guide to all the various, surprisingly high, forms of boxing results that can be declared in boxing:

TKO – Technical Knockout

A technical knockout is the most common form of a stoppage where a fighter is stopped by the referee in charge or when their corner throws the towel in.

When the official in the ring deems that a fighter cannot continue safely or are unable to defend themselves any further, they will step in to stop the fight, resulting in a TKO decision. 

KO – Knockout 

A KO result is registered when a fighter is unable to get up to beat the referee’s count. Most KOs are the result of being completely knocked unconscious.

When Amir Khan was felled by a single shot from Canelo in 2016, this was an instant KO, as the Bolton boxer remained on his back on the canvas for several minutes after.

RSC – Referee Stopped Contest

This is a form of knockout that’s a little confusing, because it essentially means the same as a TKO. It’s the term used most often in amateur boxing for a stoppage win, so an RSC is basically no different to a TKO, just different wording.

The reason it’s used so much in amateur boxing is because there are far more situations where a referee deems a boxer unable to continue just because they are being outclassed. When a young amateur is clearly outmatched and taking multiple hits, the ref will very often stop the contest mercifully, regardless of any knockdowns or big shots landing.

RTD – Retired

This decision to retire will be taken by the fighter and their team, either after an injury or following the admission that they are no longer safe to compete.

For example, Zach Parker was unbeaten when he met John Ryder in a WBO Interim World super-middleweight title fight in 2022, but after breaking his right hand, he had to make the difficult decision to withdraw after round four had finished.

UD – Unanimous Decision

A unanimous decision result is when there are three judges scoring the bout, and they have all declared the same boxer as the winner. Also referred to as a shutout or landslide points win.

PTS – Points Decision

A standard points decision is commonly found in smaller fights, where there isn’t a panel of judges involved. Instead, the referee determines the winner of the fight by handing in his scorecards after each round to officials at ringside.

MD – Mixed/Majority Decision

A mixed or majority decision is when two judges have scored the fight to one boxer and the other remaining judge has scored it even.

An example of this is when Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Canelo Alvarez by majority decision in 2013. Two ringside judges scored the WBC World super-welterweight title fight to Mayweather at 117-111 and 116-112, but CJ Ross’ score of 114-114 prevented it from being a unanimous decision win.

SD – Split Decision

A split decision is when two judges have scored the fight each way and the other remaining judge has scored it even, meaning the contenders can’t be split into a winner and a loser.

A fairly recent example is when Tyson Fury won 114-112 against Deontay Wilder, who was awarded a 115-111 winning score, in their 2018 fight. The remaining judge who had it at 113-113 meant that neither fighter could be awarded the win, with one for, one against, and one even.

TD – Technical Decision

A technical decision is perhaps the worst, most gutting defeat for a boxer to take. It’s ruled when a fighter cannot continue due to an injury, most commonly from an accidental head clash that opens up a fight-ending cut. Bit it’s also common for the injury to be located on the limbs too, such as a dislocated shoulder, broken hand or even a sprained ankle.

D – Draw

This form of result is exactly as described when the two boxers are scored evenly. This result can occur in any fight, from a four-rounder up to a world title contest.

TD – Technical Draw

Just as it shares the abbreviation of a technical decision, so too does it provoke the same reaction from a boxer that’s subjected to this form of result. A technical draw is when a contest is stopped very early due to an accidental injury that renders a boxer unable to continue but through no fault of their own.

A fairly recent example is when Liverpool’s Conner Butler met journeyman boxer Steven Maguire and due to an accidental head clash just seconds into round two, Maguire’s cut was deemed too dangerous to fight on, resulting in a technical draw. ‘Top Dog’ Butler went on to become a European flyweight champion, but that ‘1’ in the draw column forever irritated him.

MD – Majority Draw

A majority draw is where most judges at ringside rule a contest even, which usually means two judges scored a draw and one other had picked a winner. Even though one fighter won on a single scorecard and the other didn’t, no one can be ruled as a winner, the two opponents are each awarded a draw.

This is another rare result, but one which occurred recently this year in August when Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Jarrell Miller was scored 114-114 twice and 116-112 to Miller. Despite Miller getting the nod from one judge, the higher amount of judges scoring a draw was overruled.

DQ – Disqualification

A disqualification occurs when one, or even both, boxers have flagrantly or repeatedly broken the rules. 

Most of the time this involves a fighter fouling on too many occasions, such as the deliberate use of their head, or from excessive holding, hitting after the break, not listening to the ref’s instructions and more. Usually, the boxer has been warned previously by the official in charge, more than once, before the final action is taken to disqualify them.

It’s not just from repeated offences, however, it can be from a single, obvious, often scandalous foul, such as when Mike Tyson spat out his gumshield and bit a portion of Evander Holyfield’s ear off in the third round of their now infamous 1997 rematch.