Section 6: Scoring
The 10-Point Must System
All bouts are scored using the 10-Point Must System. Under this system, the winner of each round receives 10 points and the loser receives 9 points or fewer. A round that is scored even results in both competitors receiving 10 points, though even rounds are discouraged and should be rare.
Judging Criteria (Updated August 2025)
In August 2025, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) approved revised scoring criteria that prioritize damage as the primary judging criterion. Judges evaluate each round based on the following criteria, in order of priority:
- Damage: The primary scoring criterion. Damage encompasses the visible and measurable impact of strikes and submissions, including cuts, bruising, swelling, knockdowns, and impairment of an opponent's ability to continue. Damage is now weighted above volume of strikes.
- Effective Striking: The total number of legal strikes landed with significant impact, including punches, kicks, elbows, and knees. Quality and impact of strikes are weighted over sheer volume.
- Effective Grappling: Successful execution of takedowns, sweeps, reversals, and submission attempts that demonstrate control and damage. Takedowns that lead to dominant positions or submission attempts are scored more heavily than those that are immediately reversed.
- Aggression: Moving forward and pressuring the opponent, attempting to finish the fight, and taking the initiative. Aggression is only considered a factor when the other criteria are equal and must be distinguished from wild or reckless forward movement.
- Control of the Fighting Area: Dictating the location and tempo of the bout. This is the lowest-priority tiebreaker and is only considered when all other criteria are equal.
Under the updated criteria, a 10-8 round now requires "significant damage," and a 10-7 round requires "overwhelming damage and domination." Duration of dominance (percentage of round spent establishing dominance) is also considered.
Point Deductions
When the referee assesses a foul, they may instruct the official scorekeeper to deduct one or more points from the offending competitor's score for that round. The scorekeeper, not the judges, is responsible for calculating the true score after factoring in point deductions. Judges do not assess or apply point deductions independently.
Judge Independence
Judges must not communicate with one another or with ringside personnel during the bout. Each judge scores the bout independently. Judges must not factor fouls into their scoring unless the foul has been officially called and communicated by the referee.
Scorecards
At the conclusion of each round, judges submit their scorecards to the scorekeeper. At the conclusion of the bout, all scorecards are collected and tabulated. The competitor with the higher aggregate score on a majority or greater of the judges' scorecards is declared the winner by decision.