Rules and Regulations for KOK Champions, Title Fights and Rankings
Kinds of Champions
1) There are three kinds of champions:
– World Champion
– This champion is recognized as the best fighter in the division.
– European Champion
– This champion is recognized as an up-and-coming fighter. It is guaranteed that (unless he loses in the meantime) he will have a future title opportunity against the World Champion
– Interim Champion (temporary champion)
– The Interim Champion is recognized as a temporary World Champion. Reasons for having an Interim World Championship fight could be:
1) The Champion is injured or cannot defend the title for some other reason.
2) The World Championship if currently vacant.
3) It has been over 1 year since the World Champion defended the title.
Winning / Defending The Title
1) All Champions have one year to defend the title. If they cannot defend the title within one year, the title will either become vacant or an Interim Champion must be decided in the meantime.
2) All championship fights (World, European, Interim) must be 5 x 3 minutes.
3) At every major KOK event (only numbered events, not Fight Series) there must be at least one championship fight. If there is no World Championship fight, either an Interim Championship fight or a European Championship fight must take place.
4) If a fighter currently holds a KOK Championship belt, he must defend the title every time he fights. If the current champion is fighting, it must be a title defense – no exceptions.
5) If a World Champion refuses to accept the championship fight that is offered to him, he can be stripped of the title and an Interim Championship fight can be made.
6) It is possible for the European Champion to face the World Champion.
a) If the World Champion wins, he does not win the European Championship. The belt becomes vacant.
b) If the European Champion wins, be becomes the World Champion and the European Championship becomes vacant.
7) It’s possible for the European Champion to defend his title before he has a chance to face the World Champion.
8) If the European Champion does not accept the opponent in his title fight, he will be stripped of the title, the title will become vacant and he will drop in the rankings.
9) If any champion signs an exclusive contract with another promotion, they will be stripped of the title and the title will become vacant.
Challenging for the Title
1) The organization (KOK) will decide who challenges for a title.
2) Any fighter ranked between 1 and 5 may challenge for the World Title.
3) Any fighter who has won a WGP tournament may challenge for the World Title.
4) Any fighter who is ranked in the top 10 may challenge for the European Title.
5) Any fighter who has won a “contender fight” may challenge for a title (see below “Establishing a Contender”).
6) An Interim Championship fight can be made with any fighter either ranked 1 – 5 in the division, a current European Champion or a winner of a WGP tournament.
7) Fighters can only challenge for a title in an established weight category in KOK in which they are ranked. The weight divisions are:
Men’s Weight Divisions
-65 kg (Featherweight), -71 kg (Lightweight), -77 kg (Welterweight), -85 kg (Middleweight), -95 kg (Light Heavyweight), +95 kg (Heavyweight)
Women’s Weight Divisions
-48 kg (Flyweight), -52 kg (Strawweight), -61 kg (Bantamweight)
Establishing a Contender
1) A “contender fight” can be made to establish who will fight the champion next.
– Two fighters from the Top 10 will fight each other. The winner is the contender. He will be the next person to fight the champion.
– Contender fights may also be made for the European Championship with any fighters from the Top 10.
2) At every KOK event (numbered shows and Fight Series events) each fight that takes place must have an effect on the rankings.
3) The rankings must be reconfigured after each numbered KOK event, taking into account what happened at the Fight Series events as well.
4) Fighters who are in the Top 10 KOK rankings must be offered fights with other fighters who are also in the Top 10 rankings. Fighters who are in the last few rankings of the top ten (fighters rank 7 – 10) can also fight with other fighters who are ranked lower than 10.
5) For every fighter who fights in KOK, careful record keeping is necessary. Two records will be kept at all times:
1) The fighter’s overall career record
2) The fighter’s record in KOK
Both records should be taken into account when deciding the fighters overall ranking in the KOK ranking system. Amateur fights are not taken into account for official KOK rankings.
6) If a fighter does not fight at a KOK event for 1 year, he will automatically fall from the Top 10 rankings.
WGP Tournaments
1) The winner of a WGP tournament can challenge for any championship title.
2) A fighter does not have to be ranked in the KOK Top 10 to be entered into the WGP tournament. Any fighter may be entered into the tournament.
3) All fights in the tournament are 3 x 3 minutes.
4) Any unranked fighter who wins the WGP will automatically be entered into the KOK Top 10 for his division.