Glossary

Ten-Point Must System

Scoring

The standard scoring system where the winner of a round receives 10 points and the loser receives 9 or fewer. Even rounds are scored 10-10 but are rare.

Rules Guide
Boxing Rules: Scoring, Fouls & Weight Classes

How this fits with the rest of the rules — the 10-point must system, fouls and penalties, and every weight class.

More Scoring Terms

Card

Short for scorecard. Each judge maintains a card, scoring each round. Also refers to the full event lineup ("the fight card").

Compubox

A computerized punch-counting system used in televised professional boxing to track punches thrown and landed in real time.

Decision

The outcome of a fight that goes the full distance, determined by the judges' scorecards. Can be unanimous, split, or majority.

Draw

A fight with no winner on the scorecards. All three judges score it even (unanimous draw), two of them do (majority draw), or one has it even while the other two pick different winners (split draw).

Knockout (KO)

A victory achieved when a fighter is knocked down and cannot rise before the referee counts to ten.

Majority Decision

A decision where two judges score for one fighter and the third judge scores the fight as a draw.

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