Scoring a Bout

Scoring is a subjective but elementally specific art. There are three judges used in boxing matches, each one turning in his or her score at the end of each round.

Scoring is based on a "10-point must system." The perceived winner of the round earns 10 points, while the other receives 9. If the loser of the round is knocked down, it is considered a 10-8 round. If knocked down twice, a 10-7 round and so on.

The referee is also able to deduct points for infractions, making a 9-7 round, for example, a possibility.

Scoring is based on the following criteria:

1. Clean punching


2. Effective aggressiveness


3. Defense


4. Ring generalship

As previously mentioned, scoring is subjective to preference. One criterion may be more appealing or important to a judge than another one. Here are how four different individuals score bouts. Note the similarities and differences:

Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports boxing writer:

1. 1. No question that clean punches landed is the top criteria. No matter what else, this tops the list.
2. 2. The power of the punches. In amateur boxing, power does not count. In pro boxing, it is a very significant part of the game. And that's why it makes scoring off TV so hard, because it's hard to tell the power of the punches off of TV. But if a boxer lands a lot of pitty-pat punches and his opponent lands far fewer, but they're much harder and more powerful, I'd tend to favor the harder puncher.
3. 3. I look to see which fighter is controlling the tempo and the way the fight is fought. This doesn't arbitrarily mean that the guy coming forward always wins the round. There are guys who want to have someone chase them and come forward, so they then can set them up for counters.
4. 4. Aggression. I do look for aggressiveness, but as Harold often says on HBO, it has to be effective aggressiveness. If I just walk forward and follow you around the ring, I'm not doing much. If I move forward, cut the ring off and corner you so I can land, that's significant.
5. 5. Defense. Picking off punches, moving your head, using your legs, all plays into it.
6. 6. Impact. This sort of goes with power, but it can be more than power. If I'm effectively aggressive and you're wearying of trying to get away from me, that has a big impact on the fight. It may slow you down; punches you can avoid in Rounds 1-3 begin to land in Rounds 4-12 because you're being worn down. That's what I mean by impact and it's a small part of my scoring.

Bryan Dietz, boxing fan (Miami):

• Progressive activity throughout the round - what I am looking for is a fighter who is aggressive, but with a purpose. I want to see him throw punches, but not look out of control. I want to see combinations, but not see a bunch of slaps strung together to look like activity (e.g. some classic De La Hoya final 10 seconds of the round flurries). 10 to 15 punch flurries that hit nothing but glove and arm may excite hometown crowds, but they score no points with me.
• Clean punches that cause real damage - by real damage I mean, did the punch hurt the opposing fighter? Landing a clean, hard shot is one thing, but landing a shot that wobbles or stops your opponent in his tracks is quite another. Case in point, Winky Wright landed many clean shots to Paul Williams' chin, but no real damage was done. Thus, while Winky gets credit for landing those punches, Williams gains more by being able to walk through those punches and continue to throw and stalk his opponent around the ring.
• Good body movement and control - making yourself a tough target to hit is almost as important as being able to hit your opponent. Lets face it, whether we like it or not, how a fighter looks in the ring often affects the way we score the fight. Great body movement and footwork can become critical aspects of scoring a round, especially if its a close round. Solid footwork and balance can make a fighter look as though he is controlling the round because he looks relaxed in the ring. The fighter who is off balance can look as if he is hurt by a punch even though he may not be.
• Defense - if the key to winning a round and eventually the fight is to hit your opponent, doesn't not getting hit and frustrating your opponent count just as much? Great defensive fighters can not only block punches, but they also anticipate opponents patterns and turn foes strengths into weaknesses. Winky didnt beat Tito by outslugging him. He fought a smart, defensive fight that had Tito so off his game and frustrated, Tito eventually quit punching due to nothing landing more than elbow or glove. Great defense can lead to effective counterpunching or it can lead to the demoralization of your opponent. Its a win-win situation.

Bill Jessup, boxing fan (Gainesville):

1. 1. Damage. Weather it is damage do to an accumulation of punches or just clean effective accurate punches. I generally give the round to the guy I felt dealt out the most damage.
2. 2. Work rate. In my opinion there is a lot to be said for just out working the other guy in the ring.
3. I also score each round on it's own merit and very rarely add up my score before the end of the fight. I do that because I don't want to influence my scoring of later rounds by knowing one fighter is ahead of the other on my card.

Kylan Johnson, boxing fan (Washington D.C.):

• First, I score every round independently. While this may seem obvious to some, it is very tempting in the heat of a match to score with the overall momentum of the fight rather than what happened solely in the preceding three minutes. Indeed, an honest scorer will occasionally come away with a different opinion of the fight than their scorecard, as a fight can often feel different comprehensively than it did round by round.
• In scoring each bout, I try to focus on who is landing the cleanest punches and thus getting through the defense and making good contact. As the saying goes, styles make fights, and some fighters can stylistically appear to have the upper hand in a round just on sheer activity. Separating real damage from perceived infliction is very important, as it can help ensure that you as a scorer are not holding prejudices against fighters with great defensive skills or counter-punching abilities which require hesitation in initiating action.
• Finally, I happen to think that the most honest scorecards occur when one is viewing a fight for the second time and with the television on mute. As a boxing enthusiast, it is very easy to become enthralled in the anticipation of a fight and to unknowingly use the verbal cues of the crowd in your judgment of a round. Often times upon second viewing, I find that most of the punches thrown early in a fight where not as damaging as I perceived them to be in the moment and thus retrospectively call into question my own view of that round. Despite this impurity, however, I still find myself sleeping soundly, confident in knowing that the most important scorecards- those cast by the official judges- often express even greater biases in this area.

Decisions:

1. Knockout
2. Unanimous decision: all three judges score bout for same fighter
3. Majority decision: two judges score bout for same fighter, third scores draw
4. Split decision: two judges score bout for same fighter, third score it for the other
5. Draw: two or more judges score bout a draw

Copyright © 2009 Joseph R. Holzer