Boxing Scoring FAQ and Discussion

The 10-Point Must System is complicated and there have been (understandably) quite a few threads asking about certain aspects of properly scoring a Boxing match (as well as a lot of uninformed posters answering). So I put together a brief overview and FAQ on this topic. I hope it helps increase the understanding of scoring around here... :good

If you are the TL;DR type, jump to the bottom of the post and reference the FAQ.

That should answer most questions, including some of the following, which have come up on this forum:

A: No. Fighter B would need to completely dominate the rest of the round to earn 9 points rather than 8. Not just "win the rest of the round."

Q:

A: Yes. Although rarely used by professional judges, awarding 10 points to both fighters in an evenly contested round is perfectly legal and acceptable under the rules.

Q:

A: If each boxer was knocked down once in the same round, the knockdowns are disregarded and the winner of the round receives 10 points, while the loser receives 9 points.

Q:

A: 10-8 in favor of Fighter B. In terms of scoring, knockdowns cancel each other out. When Fighter A scored one knockdown, the score for this round went from 10-7 to 10-8.

Q:

A: 9-9. An exception is only applied to the "10-point must" part of the system when the referee calls time and docks a point from a fighter for committing a foul (repeated low blows, intentional head butts, etc...).

Q:

A: :think That sounds like a realistic round, I'll give it a go. First, deduct the knockdowns. If "Fighter B" scored one more knockdown than "Fighter A," the 4 other knockdowns in the round (2 for each fighter) cancel each other out. But wait, "Fighter B" was "dominated" in the round. I would start the score 10-9 in favor of "Fighter B," and then deduct 2 points from "Fighter A" for the fouls. This round would be scored 10-7 in favor of "Fighter B," although some judges may ignore the subjective concept of "domination" in a round so full of knockdowns and fouls, perhaps scoring it 10-6. Do you have a link to this crazy ass round?

If you have any questions regarding scoring that this guide does not cover, please post it in this thread and I will add it to the original post.

Thanks to Booradly for RTD

:hat

 

:smoke

 

:think
I thought I said that...

 

Thanks Boo, fixed.

 

It's a good question. I think the closest precedent is the 1995 fight between Prince Charles Williams and Merqui Sosa. Although not a double KO per se, the Ring Dr. ruled between rounds that both fighters were unable to continue... resulting in a technical draw. :desk

 

They are 2 different things. A "Referee's Technical Decision" is when the ref feels that one fighter (or both fighters ) cannot continue between rounds. Michael Buffer announces it as a TKO but it goes down officially as an RTD.

That is as opposed to a technical decision when the fight goes to the scorecards before the scheduled amount of rounds transpires. Ie, due to a cut caused by an unintentional headbutt.

 

Added scoring criteria (Clean punching, effective aggressiveness, etc..) to the original post.