Reference

RULES & SCORING

Everything you need to understand how boxing is officiated, scored, and regulated.

Ten-Point Must System

Each round is scored independently. The winner of a round receives 10 points, and the loser receives 9 or fewer points.

Punches that land on legal target areas (front and sides of the head and body above the belt) with the knuckle area of the glove.

Advancing and pressing the attack while landing punches. Walking forward without throwing is NOT effective aggression.

Controlling the pace and position of the fight. Dictating where the action takes place and at what tempo.

Making the opponent miss through head movement, footwork, and blocking. Clean defense that leads to counters is valued.

Score	Meaning
10-9	The usual score: one fighter won the round and there were no knockdowns.
10-8	One knockdown — or, rarely, a round so one-sided it's scored as if there had been one.
10-7	Two knockdowns in the round. Very rare.
10-10	Even round. Neither fighter did enough to win it. Rare, and discouraged in most jurisdictions.

A point taken away for a foul comes off the offending fighter's score for that round, so a 10-9 round becomes 10-8.

World Boxing Association

Est. 1921 · Panama City, Panama

World Boxing Council

Est. 1963 · Mexico City, Mexico

International Boxing Federation

Est. 1983 · Springfield, NJ, USA

World Boxing Organization

Est. 1988 · San Juan, Puerto Rico