No contest (boxing)
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No contest is a technical term used in the sport of boxing, to describe a fight which ends for reasons outside the fighters' hands. Various reasons could be used for a fight to be ruled a no contest, but the rules that dictate whether a fight should be called a no contest, a disqualification win for one of the boxers, or a knockout win for one of the boxers differ from country to country.
In the 1800s and early parts of the 1900s, many countries (and some parts of the United States) officially banned boxing, and occasionally the police (usually when they felt their bribes were insufficient) would step in to stop the unlawful bouts (which, although unlawful, were still sanctioned by regional boxing commissions). Since boxing is now lawful almost everywhere in the world, the number of fights called no-contest has decreased dramatically since the beginnings of the 20th century. Referees were also known to stop bouts during this period, when they felt bouts were too slow, due to either one or both boxers not trying.
In the modern game, rules in the United States now dictate that any bout which ends prior to the completion of the 4th round, due to an accidental headbutt, is to be declared a no-contest. Prior to this, accidental headbutt stoppages, had been ruled a technical draw. Most other no-contests in boxing occur when unusual circumstances, which would include instances such as a bout being rained out, ring falling apart, or an unexpected injury caused by something outside of the boxer's control. One good example of an unusual circumstance occurred in 1983, on the undercard of the fight where Roberto Duran beat Davey Moore for the World Jr. Middleweight title at the Madison Square Garden, when Luis Resto and Billy Collins Jr. boxed ten rounds. Resto appeared to win the fight cleanly, and the scorers gave the match to Resto. But, it was later discovered that he had cheated by tampering with his gloves before the fight. The injuries Collins received affected his sight, and, upon finding out what Resto and his corner had done, the New York state athletic commission decided to change the result of the fight to a no-contest.
On January 20th, 2007, Nikolai Valuev fought Jameel McCline in St. Jakob-Halle, Basel, Switzerland. Valuev won the match, and defended his title, when McCline suffered a dislocated knee in the third round when he tripped and fell. According to WBA rules, if there is no punch landed by the fallen boxer's opponent when he suffers an in-ring accident, the fight is declared null (a no contest), and in this case there was no visible punch landed by Valuev in the moment of McCline's accident. The WBA however, as of 28 January still has the fight result as a TKO victory for Valuev.
