How are decisions communicated when a bout ends early due to stoppage?

• A. The audience elects winner
• B. The coach decides
• C. The referee signals stoppage; if applicable, the judges’ scores up to stoppage contribute to the result.
• D. Return to the locker room and forget

Answer: (C)

When a bout ends early due to stoppage, the official in the ring (the referee) makes the call and signals that the fight is over, declaring the winner. This is the primary way the outcome is communicated. If enough rounds have been completed for scoring, those judges’ scorecards from the rounds up to the stoppage can determine the result in situations like a technical decision. In other words, a stoppage ends the fight with a winner announced by the referee, but scoring can come into play only in the specific cases where the rules allow the fight to be decided by the cards up to that point.