Boxing scoring system explained ahead of Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois bout - and it isn't how most people think
Anthony Josuha and Daniel Dubois take to the ring tonight as they fight it out for the IBF world heavyweight title.
Joshua, a two-time former champion, has racked up four consecutive victories and will be aiming to clinch a decisive win over his British adversary at Wembley Stadium. The odds are high that the match could conclude in a stoppage, given that 25 of AJ's 28 wins have been knockouts, while Dubois boasts 20 knockouts from his 21 victories. If the bout lasts the full 12 rounds, the verdict will rest in the hands of three ringside judges. Their scores out of ten for each fighter per round are added up to determine the winner.
A unanimous decision is reached if all three officials concur on the victor, whereas a split decision victory is granted if only two judges score the fight in favour of a particular boxer.
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The subjective nature of scoring by judges has led to numerous contentious decisions over the years. To shed light on this, former British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) judge Ian John-Lewis explained the process from a judge's viewpoint on The Sports Agents podcast, reports the Express. He disclosed that fighters are scored separately out of 10 in each round. He further revealed that judges do not retain the scorecard for a round once it's over, meaning they don't reach a conclusion by observing the entire fight.
He explained: "What a lot of people don't understand is that it's basically twelve fights. Each round is scored and you hand your card in, so you don't know how you scored it after that.
"You're not thinking about the previous round. Lots of people think we keep our cards but no, you hand your card in and you don't know the result until the end when you look at the overall scorecard and see how we've all scored it."
Caught up in a storm of controversy in February 2022, John-lewis faced professional scrutiny when the BBBofC downgraded him from an A* to an A-class judge, disqualifying him from their elite events. The reason was his controversial 114-111 scorecard favouring Josh Taylor in the super-lightweight clash against Jack Catterall, a fight that many observers believed Taylor had decisively lost.
John-Lewis highlighted the lack of a uniform approach to scoring in boxing, detailing his own technique which involves using an 'imaginary set of scales' instead of tallying punches or relying on a facts-based system.
He said: "You can't count (the score based on most hits). You've got to watch who's trying to make the fight, who's dominating the fight, who's hitting who more. No judge is exactly the same. It's all about opinions you see. You've only got to get four very close rounds being scored differently to say to each other, 'what have you been watching?! '".
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) has specified guidelines for appointing three judges by the Board's stewards to score a match, according to their rule book. The guide details: "For British and Commonwealth Championship Contests, a supervisor will be appointed by the Board for the purpose of collating and totalling the judges scores and attending to any relevant matter pertaining to the Championship contest other than that provided for within these Rules and Regulations being within the authority of the Referee."
"Where three Judges are to score a Contest, at the end of every round the Referee has to collect the Judges' scorecards and pass them to the supervisor so that the scores can be collated."
"The judge shall award a maximum of ten points at the end of each round to the better Boxer and a proportionate number to the other contestant. If they consider the round was even they will then award the maximum number to each contestant."
In terms of what constitutes scoring points, it explains: "Points will be awarded: For 'attack' - direct clean hits with the knuckle part of the glove of either hand to any part of the front or side of the head or body above the belt. The 'belt' is defined as an imaginary line drawn across the body from the top of the hip bones."
Lastly, it states: "For 'defence' - guarding, slipping, ducking, or getting away from an attack. Where contestants are otherwise equal the majority of points will be given to the one who does most leading off or displays the better style."
In the event a boxer is unable to continue in a match, such as after being counted out, they receive no points for that round and incur a 10-point penalty. Their opponent, on the other hand, is awarded 10 points and declared the winner. A boxer can also be declared the loser if, despite returning to their feet within the allotted time, they are deemed unfit to defend themselves.
According to John-Lewis, making the call to end a fight as a referee is a challenging decision that requires careful consideration of various factors, with the primary concern being the boxer's safety. He explained, "You have to take everything into consideration. It's a really, really tough call. But it's about safety. We've all got fight in us but when that gets punched out of you, that's when we do our job. We're there to save you for another day."