Editing Knockout (section)

==Technical knockout<span class="anchor" id="Technical knockout"></span> ==
<!-- "RSC" (disambiguation page), "Referee stopped contest", and "Referee Stopped Contest" link here -->
{{redirect|TKO}}
[[File:2017-12-02 Roman Hardok - Jakob Jakobi - DSC2359.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The referee may stop a match if they deem either competitor unable to fight.]]
A '''technical knockout''' ('''TKO''' or '''T.K.O.'''), '''stoppage''', or '''referee stopped contest (RSC)''' is declared when the referee decides during a round that a fighter cannot safely continue the match for any reason.  Certain sanctioning bodies also allow the official attending physician at ringside to stop the fight as well.  In amateur boxing, and in many regions professionally, including championship fights sanctioned by the [[World Boxing Association]] (WBA), a TKO is declared when a fighter is knocked down three times in one round (called an "automatic knockout" in WBA rules).<ref>{{cite web |title=WBA Rules as Amended at Directorate Meeting in Orlando, Florida - December 2022 |url=https://www.wbaboxing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WBA-Rules-11.08.2023.pdf |website=WBA Boxing |access-date=2024-02-04 |ref=WBAKO}}</ref>  Furthermore, in amateur boxing, a boxer automatically wins by TKO if his opponent is knocked down four times in an entire match.<ref>Sugar, Bert. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060619215358/http://www.owingsmillsboxingclub.com/boxing.htm Boxing]}}. ''www.owingsmillsboxingclub.com''. URL last accessed March 4, 2006.</ref><ref name="WBCompetition">{{cite web |title=World Boxing Competition Rules |url=https://worldboxing.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/World-Boxing-Competition-Rules-Feb-2024-v3.99-ClEAN.pdf |website=World Boxing |access-date=2024-12-02}}</ref>

In MMA bouts, the referee may declare a TKO if a fighter cannot intelligently defend themselves while being repeatedly struck.<ref name=ufc/>