FAST FACTS: How boxing matches are scored

MANILA, Philippines – The world anticipates the boxing match between eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr on Saturday, May 2, in Las Vegas, Nevada (Sunday, May 3, in the Phillippines).

If this historic bout goes the distance or the full 12 rounds, all eyes will be on the scorecards. But how exactly are the winners determined in boxing matches, and how are these bouts scored?

Three judges, usually at ringside, give scores for each boxer in every round. They follow a 10-Point Must system, wherein the winner of each round automatically gets 10 points, while the loser gets 9 points. If the loser’s opponent scores a knockdown, the loser merits a further 1-point deduction, or a 10-8 score.

Two knockdowns cost 2 points, resulting in a 10-7 score. If both boxers get knocked down, there are no deductions.

If both boxers are seen to be even and no one gets knocked down, both boxers could get 10 points, or a judge could score it 10-9 in favor of the boxer that caused the most damage.

A 9-9 score only occurs if the winning boxer of the round is penalized by the referee due to a foul.

The factors that the judges consider when scoring are effective aggression and defense, clean punching, and ring generalship or command.

Declaring a winner

At the end of the boxing match, the judges’ tallies for both boxers are added up.

Outside of a knockout (KO) or a disqualification, there are 4 possible decisions that can be made, based on the scorecards of each judge.

A unanimous decision happens when all 3 judges score the fight for one boxer.

The judges arrive at a majority decision when two of them are in favor of one boxer while the third judge calls the bout a draw.

A split decision happens when two of the judges favor one boxer and the third judge awards the fight to the other boxer.

Finally, a draw happens when at least two judges declare the fight as tied. It also happens when two judges do not have the same winner, and the third one declares a tie.

Meanwhile, a KO is called when a boxer gets knocked down and fails to get up or recover before the end of the referee’s count (usually an 8-count or a 10-count).

If the referee decides to stop the bout due to injury from a fair or legal punch, the injured boxer loses by a technical knockout (TKO). An injury may be a cut, abrasion, or excessive swelling, according to the World Boxing Council (WBC).

Fouls and injuries

Aside from knockdowns, point deductions happen when a boxer commits a foul. A foul is usually determined by the referee and can cost a warning, point deduction, or disqualification.

If the foul is intentional, and causes an injury and the immediate stoppage of the bout, the fighter who caused the injury is disqualified.

If the referee allows the fight to continue, the boxer who caused the foul gets an automatic two-point deduction.

If the injury caused by an intentional foul results in the fight being stopped at a later round, the injured boxer wins either by technical decision (if he leads in the judges’ scorecards) or the contest will result to a technical draw (if he is behind or even in the scorecards).

Meanwhile, if the foul is accidental but the bout continues, the uninjured boxer gets a one-point deduction, at the discretion of the referee. If both boxers are injured, there is no point deduction. (This is followed by some boxing associations, like the WBC.)

If the foul causes the bout to stop later (or from the 5th round and beyond), the winner is determined via technical decision. The boxer with the highest score at the time the match was stopped wins.

If the fight is stopped before the 5th round or before 4 completed rounds, it results in a technical draw (for the WBC), or a no-decision or no-contest match (for the World Boxing Federation or WBF). – with research by Michael Bueza/Rappler.com

Images of score sheet and boxers from Shutterstock

Sources: World Boxing Federation (WBF), World Boxing Council (WBC), International Association of Boxing (IAB), boxing.isport.com, boxrec.com, sse.gov.on.ca

Kim Sy is a Rappler intern.