The TEN POINT MUST system:

Almost all pro boxing bouts around the world, certainly ALL World title fights, are scored using the common criteria of the TEN POINT MUST system.

The Ten Point must system dictates that the winner of a round receives ten points, and the loser receives nine or incremenatally less, depending on his or her performance.

If a judge feels the round is even (ie: neither fighter dominated) he will score ten points for each boxer. A "drawn" round is not the most desirable outcome and many judges will try to avoid "fence sitting scores". Most judges will choose a winner and loser for every round. Four primary criteria (equally considered) should determine the scoring of each round:

• CLEAN PUNCHING
• EFFECTIVE AGGRESSION
• RING GENERALSHIP
• DEFENSE

Clean Punching:
MOST important. Are punches landing, or deflected? Is one fighter landing more flush punches than the other?

Ring Generalship:
Who is controlling the fight? Is one fighter continually backing up? Has one fighter effectively "cut off" the ring? Is one fighter clearly dominating the ring area?

Effective Aggression:
Look for the fighter who is continually landing punches while moving forward. Does he "Own" the ring? Are his punches hurting his opponent? Is he consistently moving forward & landing effectively as he does so?

Defense:
It's all very well for a fighter to look good coming forward - but - is he able to defend? Poor defense is the mark of a less than capable fighter. If a boxer combines great offensive strategy combining clean punching, ring generalship, and effective aggression with sensible and effective defensive skills, he/she should be in front.

In this system, If you think Fighter A has an edge over Fighter B in any round, you would score it 10 for Fighter A and 9 for Fighter B. If Fighter A scores a knockdown over Fighter B and is winning the round, Score 10 for Fighter A and 8 for Fighter B. If Fighter A scores two knockdowns in a single round, he should win by 10-7.

A standing eight count should be scored the same as a knockdown. If a referee deducts a point (for a foul - intentional head butt, low blow, holding, whatever) from a fighter who won the round, that round will have a net total of 9-9. NB: WITHOUT the point deduction, your score would have originally been 10-9 for the dominant fighter) Point deductions are ONLY determined by the referee.

Points are totalled at the end of the bout. If Fighter A is ahead on two of the judges' cards, Fighter A wins by split decision. If two cards reflect a draw, and the third scores the bout for Fighter A, then the fight is a draw, since the majority scored it a draw. If two judges have it for Fighter A, and the third judge has it even, Fighter A is wins by majority decision.

Bear in mind that this is a broad guide only - scoring is also affected by additional rules imposed by individual national or state governing bodies.

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