TIPS ON SCORING  A FIGHT.....by RVD


 I read a lot about bad scoring in boxing in the last few weeks. So, if it can help I'm going to give you a short 101 course on judging in Boxing. My scoring card is usually pretty close from the official scoring cards and sometimes people around me are stunned by the official scores from judges. When I explain my scoring system to friends they are usually doing a lot better... at least as far as scoring close from the official cards. I don't want to gloat about my abilities to score right but I will give you some tips. If your scoring is always close from official cards you don't need me ! Anyway, I hope I can help some people. 
                    
First of all the first thing to do when judging a fight is to be concentrate specially if you watch the fight on tv. Since we don't have the chance to be 5 feet from the ring and have the chance to see all the punches which hit or not the least we can do is to watch closely what we can see. So, rule number one is to forget about eating chips or peanuts or drinking a beer during a round. You also don't leave the tv set if you talk to someone, ideally you don't talk at all until the round is done. And you don't kiss your girlfriend during a round either even if your fav fighter lands some good shots... People
always laugh when I said this but believe me it's very important. You have to be in the fight from start to finish, judges are you have to be. 
                    
Judging boxing like all other sports using judges deal with politics. I know it should not work this way but what can I say, it's the way it is we can talk all day about the situation... 
                    
The site of a fight is very important. The nationality of the fighters and judges is also important. It's tough for North Americans to win in Europe, almost impossible to win on the scoring card in Germany. North Americans fighters also getting the edge in USA against oversea fighters. Home site advantage is definitely not a myth in boxing. Anything close in a round usually goes to the home town boy. 
                    
Another thing to look for when judging is the world status of the fighters. A big name fighter will usually have the edge on
anything close in a round over a less known fighter. A champion (or Olympic medalist) will also have the edge in close rounds. Highly touted fighters on the rise will also get the edge. Higer ranked fighters over lower ranked fighters. 
                    
One more thing to look at is the promoter of a card and the managers of the fighters. High profile promoters and managers will see their fighters get advantage over little known managing groups. You can talk about corruption... maybe but hey the FBI got into a few stories and it's hard to proove. 
                    
Most judges prefer technical boxers over brawlers. You can lay all the punches you want if they land on the elbows or gloves it will not count. It's spectacular on tv but not always count on the scoring cards. Being the aggressor a whole fight is not necessarily a way to win a fight. Judges prefer guys with some defense. Landing at higher rate is often better than throwing a lot but landing at a low rate. 
                    
More and more judges prefer to give a round to a fighter instead of giving a draw. The round has to be very very close for being a 10-10. That's the major problem of novice scorers. Fans give too many tied rounds. 
                    
The style of the fighters also have some importance. Guys always grabbing and holding are not very well regarded by the judges. Showboating is also reserved to only high profile fighters. 
                    
Other thing to look at is the physical condition of the fighters specially during the fight. A very bloody fighter hit a lot in a
fight will usually suffer on the score cards unless the bleeding is cause by one particular punch or headbutt. A fighter looking like a guy coming from a car accident will not get the edge over a fighter looking like a guy coming from the restaurant. It's only humar nature here. Judges are human... Out of shape fighters (overweight or badly trained) usually don't stand very well with the judges. 
                    
Oh, don't be influenced by commentators and analysts. Those guys are there to entertain not really to tell you what's really happening in the ring. And don't be influenced by scoring cards put on TV specially those of Harry Letterman... Do your own scoring, you don't need anybody to tell you who won a round. 
                    
I think I have cover most of the grea areas you should know about.