-
Professional boxing uses the subjective ten-point method to score matches.
-
Three judges sit and score the biggest bouts of the sport.
-
When a boxing match goes the distance, the scorecards decide the winner.
Boxing is a pure sport, and yet, its methods for scoring are far from straightforward.
Due to the many ways a boxer can dominate in the ring, a particularly subjective method is deployed by the judges.
It’s this system that has caused so much controversy in the past, with boxers who look to have won with their dominance being dealt draws or losses. Still, many prefer it to the old Olympic and amateur style of scoring.
This is how judges are asked to score boxing matches, as well as how boxers can avoid the scorecards by stopping the fight beforehand.
How is a Professional Boxing Match Scored?
Across all weight classes of professional boxing, the very subjective ten-point system is used to score matches.
The three judges analyse four primary criteria to help guide their decision as to who should win each round. Those criteria are:
-
Effective Aggression: Boxers need to be effective in their aggression, which means that while pushing on the front foot and throwing punches is encouraged, the number of those punches that land well is what’s judged.
-
Defence: A boxer with great footwork, a successful guard, and good upper-body movement can make the most aggressive boxers look ineffective. So, the defence of a boxer is also graded, especially as crisp counterpunching can even parlay into effective aggression.
-
Hard and Clean Punches: Punches that hit target areas hard and cleanly by avoiding guards and evasion manoeuvres earn higher ratings among the judges. This means connecting fully and with power to key areas like the head and sides of the torso.
-
Ring Generalship: A boxer who manages to set the tone and command how the bout plays out in the ring is considered to be more dominant in the eyes of the judges. This can mean being effective on the front foot or being the one who’s leading the less effective aggressor around and into traps.
How Do You Lose Points in Boxing?
In each round, if a boxer isn’t deemed to be the better of the two – in regard to effective aggression, defence, hard and clean punches, or ring generalship – they will cede a point to their opponent, getting a nine to their ten on the scorecard.
They can also lose points if they’re deemed to have been knocked down. A knockdown is called by the referee when the boxer goes down or effectively goes down – as Tyson Fury did against Oleksandr Usyk – and the referee begins the ten-second count.
Should a boxer commit a serious foul or breaks the rules after warnings from the referee, the referee will pause the fight, bring them to the middle of the ring, and indicate to the judges that a point has been deducted.
What are the Methods of Victory in Boxing?
A boxing match doesn’t have to go the distance to find a winner. In many instances, a boxer will win before the judges’ scorecards need consulting. These are the methods of victory in boxing:
-
Knockout (KO): The opponent is put to the ground by their opponent and can’t beat the ten-count.
-
Technical Knockout (TKO): Either the opponent is unwilling to continue, or their corner, the referee, or the doctor doesn’t deem them fit to continue.
-
Disqualification (DQ): When an opponent repeatedly fouls or violates the rules of boxing, the referee can disqualify them from the contest.
-
Retired (RTD): A corner can stop the match and retire their boxer between rounds, and the boxer can retire themselves on their stool to end the fight.
-
Technical Decision (TD): Should a boxer injure their opponent within the bounds of the sport, and then that injury causes the fight to be stopped, if the opponent is level or behind on the scorecards, the other gets a technical decision victory.
-
Unanimous Decision (UD): On all three of the judges’ scorecards, one boxer is deemed to be the winner.
-
Mixed Decision (MD): Two of the judges’ scorecards agree on the winner, while the third deems the bout to be a draw.
-
Split Decision (SD): One judge scores it for the opponent while the other two are in favour of the winner.
In the boxing odds, you’ll often find these methods of victory grouped into going the rounds and stoppage. So, one method of victory will be on points (UD, MD, or SD), while the other is a stoppage (KO, TKO, DQ, or TD).
How Does a No Contest (NC) Happen in Boxing?
A no contest can occur for several reasons in boxing. When it does, it nullifies the win or loss from the records of the boxers. Instead, the result is put down as an NC.
No contests most often occur for external reasons when the bout ends beyond the control of the boxers – such as technical problems in the arena – or when a boxer is later found to have tested positive for an illegal substance.
Had a bout gone the distance and found a winner, but later been deemed a no contest due to a failed drugs test, as with Ryan Garcia’s win over Devin Haney in April 2024, the result will be changed to NC-ND (no contest, no decision).
A bout can also be deemed a no contest if both boxers are disqualified. This double disqualification occurs when both opponents are flagrantly and repeatedly breaking the rules of the sport.
How Does a Draw Happen in Boxing?
While the result gets long odds in the betting markets, a draw can happen in boxing if certain combinations of judges’ scorecards are presented at the end or if both fighters are unable to continue at the same time.
A draw in boxing is most often decided by the majority of scorecards seeing the bout as tied. A unanimous draw is ruled when all three scorecards deem the bout to be a tie.
A split draw occurs when all three of the scorecards are different, giving Boxer A the win, Boxer B the win, and the third card ruling it a draw.
Majority draws have one scorecard awarding a winner while the other two rule it a draw. In exceedingly rare occurrences, a double knockout (DKO) can result in a draw.
How is Boxing Scored at the Olympics?
Olympic boxing used to be scored in the same way as many amateur competitions, being predominantly based on hits landed and where the glove connects.
Since Rio 2016, the ten-point method of the professional ranks has been the method of boxing scoring at the Olympics. The difference between this and the professional ranks is that five judges sit over an Olympic match.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*
