How to Score a Contest

3.5.1 A Referee shall officiate inside the boxing ring to score the Contest and act as sole arbiter of the Rules of Boxing except for British and Commonwealth Championship Contests, or other such Contest that the Stewards in their absolute discretion deem appropriate.

Scoring and the awarding of points is one of the most important and difficult tasks of the Referee. All Contests are decided on points. This is to satisfy the law, as it distinguishes boxing from prize-fighting (the latter being illegal).

3.5.2 For British and Commonwealth Championship contests only, or other such Contest that the Stewards, in their absolute discretion deem appropriate, three judges will be appointed by the Board for the purpose of scoring the Contest.

Before such a Contest starts, the Referee must make themself familiar with where the three judges are located, as during the contest they will need to ensure they all see relevant signals that the referee makes, such as point deductions.

3.5.3 For British and Commonwealth Championship Contests, or other such Contest that the Stewards in their absolute discretion deem appropriate, a supervisor being a Steward of the Board or Area Council representative 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 rather than the Referee 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.

3.29 The Referee 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.

3.31 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.
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.

The Referee shall award a maximum of ten points at the end of each round to the better Boxer and a lesser number to the other Boxer, the difference between the scores reflecting the level of superiority of the better Boxer. Only full points (and not fractions of a point) shall be awarded. If the Referee considers the round was even they will then award ten points to each Boxer.

The guiding principle in deciding which Boxer has had the better of each round is the quantity and quality of scoring punches, i.e. correctly delivered blows (with the knuckle part of the closed glove of either hand) which land on the target area (any part of the front or sides of the head or body above the belt).

Other factors to be considered are effective aggression (leading off, providing such leading is effective), defence (guarding, slipping, ducking, getting away, etc.) and technical style.

While boxing is regarded as the “art of self-defence”, it is (generally speaking) an attacking sport and the Boxer who is prepared to carry the Contest to their opponent should be credited for this when the Referee assesses a round, unless their efforts to carry the Contest have been ineffective.

However, according to the Regulations, reward must be given for defence, which includes guarding, slipping, ducking and getting away. It is possible for a Boxer to box on the back foot for the whole of a Contest and win on points if they have landed the greater number of scoring punches. As an example, Boxer A attacks and leads off, but Boxer B slips the lead and counters with a scoring blow: Boxer B therefore emerges from that exchange better than Boxer A, according to the Regulations.

One area on which the Regulations are silent, and thus give Referees and Judges discretion, is how to score a round in which one or more knockdowns are scored. It is commonly thought that if a Boxer scores a knockdown in a round, they automatically win the round 10- 8. This is a myth - there is nothing in the Regulations that says this. The myth has arisen because in many cases, the Boxer who scores the knockdown also wins the round, for example due to punches landed before or after the knockdown. In such cases, the round should correctly be scored 10-8, for the reason in example (a) below. But it is not correct to say that the Boxer automatically wins the round 10-8 because of the knockdown: the whole round must be considered and scored in its own right.

The way in which a Referee should take a knockdown into account is to consider it as a one- point advantage to the Boxer who has scored the knockdown. The following examples illustrate how this works:

(a) Boxer A knocks down Boxer B once, A also wins the round. Score: 10-8 to A (as a normal winning round would be 10-9 to A, but A gains a further one-point advantage for the knockdown).
(b) A knocks down B once, but the round is even. Score: 10-9 to A (as an even round would be 10-10, but A gains a one-point advantage for the knockdown).
(c) A knocks down B once but B wins the round. Score: 10-10 (as a normal winning round for B would be 10-9 to B, but A gains a one-point advantage for the knockdown).
(d) A knocks down B twice, and A also wins the round. Score: 10-7 to A (as a normal winning round would be 10-9 to A, but A gains two further one-point advantages for the knockdowns).
(e) A knocks down B twice, and A also wins the round widely, putting B under heavy pressure. Score: 10-6 to A (as a very one-sided winning round can be scored 10-8 to A, even without any knockdowns, A also gains two further one-point advantages for the knockdowns).
(f) A knocks down B once, B knocks down A once, and A wins the round. Score: 10-9 to A (as a normal winning round would be 10-9 to A, and the knockdowns cancel each other out).
(g) A knocks B down twice, B knocks down A once, and A wins the round. Score: 10-8 to A (as a normal winning round would be 10-9 to A; A’s first knockdown cancels out B’s knockdown, but A gets a one-point advantage for scoring the second knockdown).
(h) A wins the round, which is very one-sided although no knockdown is scored. Score: 10-8 to A (as a very one-sided winning round can be scored 10-8).

The above are simple examples, and other situations could of course arise. Note: although it is very rarely required, it is perfectly possible and permissible to score a round more widely than 10-7.

3.30 Only official score sheets approved and supplied by the Board shall be used by Referees at Contests. The top copy shall be handed to the Inspector at the conclusion of the Contest and then forwarded, by them, to the Area Secretary or in the case of all Championships and Eliminators for Championships (save of and for Area Championships) to the Board.

This must be done for all Contests, including ones that are stopped before the full distance has elapsed. This is because, technically speaking, all Contests are decided on points, for the legal reasons set out under Regulation 3.5 above. See also Regulation 3.33.1 below.

All score sheets should be used sequentially, and any spoiled or unused score sheets should be handed to the Area Representative or Inspector at ringside.

3.33.1 A Boxer failing to continue with a Contest after the intervals specified above [i.e. a count] shall not be awarded any points for that round but will have 10 points deducted from their score. Their opponent shall receive ten points and be declared the winner.

3.33.2 If a Boxer regains their feet in the boxing ring within the specified intervals [i.e. a count] but fails to satisfy the Referee that they are in a position and condition to defend themself, the Referee shall stop the Contest and deduct ten points from this score. They shall award the opponent ten points and declare them the winner.

The scoresheets mentioned in Regulation 3.30 must be completed in line with Regulation 3.33, should a Contest end in this way.

3.44 The Referee shall decide each contest in favour of the Boxer who obtains the greater number of points.

The Referee must add up and check the points total at the end of the Contest, and notify the score to the MC where the Contest goes the full distance or is decided by technical decision or where a double count-out or "double no-foul injury" occurs.