After 33-Year Ban, Norway Legalizes Professional Boxing

---

The sport of professional boxing will make its return to Norway following a 33-year hiatus, leaving North Korea and Iran as the only two countries that don’t allow the sport.

In a vote held in the Norwegian parliament on Tuesday, the proposition passed by a margin of 54 to 48. VG Sporten first reported the news.

Boxing has been illegal in the country since 1981, when the “Knockout Law” was put into action. The law bans any sport where winning or scoring points can come by way of knockout. As a result, boxing was banned out of medical precautions.

Since the law has been put in place, anyone caught professionally boxing could be sentenced up to three months of jail time.

With the legalization of the sport, boxers in Norway will no longer be forced to train and live outside of the country’s boundaries.