How to Score a Professional Boxing Match

Professional fights are scored on a Ten Point Must System in which the boxer who wins a round must be awarded ten points, with his opponent recieving nine or less, usually nine. A fighter loses a point for every knockdown he suffers. Thus, a boxer who is winning a round and scores two knockdowns during that round will earn a score of ten, while his opponent gets a seven.

The four scoring criteria mentioned in the opening are used to determine the winner of each round. Once the fight is over, the scores from each of three judges at ringside are tallied and the results announced to the fighters and the audience.

While clean punching is generally given greater weight by most judges, the other three criteria shouldn't be ignored. Judging a boxing match is an inherently subjective exercise, but adhering to the rules adds objectivity, and veracity, to the argument. Otherwise, why have scoring standards in the first place?

A discourse on scoring assumes that any fight under discussion has completed its allotted rounds (either four, six, eight, ten, or twelve), or, in accord with the rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions, has gone at least four rounds if the fight is stopped because of a cut caused by an accidental headbutt. To the scoring, then.

Clean Punching

A clean punch is one that lands on a scoring area (face or side of head, not including the back of the head; the front and sides of the torso) with the knuckle portion of the glove. In amateur boxing, the scoring portion of the glove is white. Though a professional glove lacks such markings, the scoring portion of the glove is basically the same.

Clean punches will land flush, not glancing or partially blocked by one's opponent. "Slapping" or "backhanding" is not allowed.

Effective Aggressiveness

Effective aggression is demonstrated when a fighter presses forward, and in doing so, scores more clean punches, or more damaging blows, than his opponent. If a boxer is a particularly hard puncher, even blows that are not landed particularly clean, but obviously affect his opponent, are given scoring weight.

Ring Generalship

The ability to control the pace and style of a fight is ring generalship. For instance, a high volume-punching brawler will attempt to force a "stick and move" boxer into a slugfest. Conversely, the pure boxer will attempt to slow the pace of the fight by keeping his opponent at the end of his jab and use angles and feints in order to set up his heavier punches.

It is imperative that professional judges comprehend each fighter's respective style in order to understand who is controlling the action and demonstrating superior ring generalship.

Defense

Probably the most ignored, if not maligned, of the four judging criteria is defense. There have been boxers who were such defensive wizards, such as Willie Pep, or Pernell Whitaker, that it was virtually impossible for judges not to recognize their skill. It is said that Pep once won a round against Jackie Graves in 1946 without landing a single punch. In truth, the featherweight Pep landed a few jabs during that round, but such a story is remarkable only because it is so rare, as defense is so poorly appreciated.

Defense is the ability to avoid punshment. A boxer with greater reach than his opponent may stay on the outside and use his footwork to avoid punches--a style often frowned on by judges. One might stay inside and slip punches. Another option is to block an opponent's punches with one's gloves, arms and shoulders, or the highly skilled fighter may choose to use a combination of defensive techniques, depending on the situation.

Sources for this article:

"Harold Lederman on Scoring" Lederman, Harold; hbo.com/boxing/cmp/scoring.shtml

"You be the Boxing Judge" Kaczmarek, Tom; Dorrance Publishing Co., 1996

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