The 2019 Boxing Federation of Kenya referee and judge of the year, Ndungu Mathu, has explained how points will be awarded to boxers during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Kenya will be represented by two four boxers, captain Nicholas Okoth (featherweight) leading Elly Ajowi (heavyweight) in the men's category while Christine Ongare (flyweight) and Elizabeth Akinyi (welterweight) will battle it in the women's division.
Okoth and Ongare secured direct entries to the games during the African qualifiers in Dakar, Senegal while Ajowi and Akinyi benefited from the International Olympic Committee rankings system.
Mathu said scoring will be done with the traditional '10-point must system' that is commonly used in boxing but will have additional judges.
“Rather than the total points, each round will be scored by five judges and a computer randomly selects three of their scores to count. Each judge must award 10 points to the boxer they judge to have won the round within 15 seconds of the end of the round,” said Mathu.
“The winner of the round gets 10 points, while the loser gets a lower number from six to nine points. Nine points would denote a close round, eight points a clear winner, seven points total dominance, and six points overmatched.”
A unanimous decision will be given when all three judges have the same fighter scoring more points.
A split decision will occur if two of the three judges have the same fighter scoring more points (the winner), while the other judge had the other boxer scoring more points (the loser).
In a majority decision, two of the three judges have the same fighter scoring more points (the winner), while the other judge rules the contest a draw.
A draw can occur when either two of the judges rule the contest a draw, or it can happen when one judge scores the bout for one fighter, another judge scores it for the other fighter, and the third rules it a draw.
“The judging criteria will be solely based on the number of target-area blows land, domination of the bout, technique and tactical superiority, competitiveness, and infringement of the rules.
“If a boxer is knocked down, he loses a point. If a boxer is knocked down twice, he loses two points. If both fighters are knocked down, the knockdowns cancel each other out,” added Mathu.
While uncommon, if a fighter completely dominates a round but doesn’t score a knockdown, a judge can still score that round 10-8.
If a judge deems the round completely even, both fighters receive 10 points.
When the referee sees fit, he can take away a point or two for an intentional foul, he can do the same for unintentional ones, but that usually occurs after at least a warning.
“Points will be awarded according to effective aggression, where the fighter consistently lands his punches and avoids those from his opponent; ring generalship, where the fighter controls the action and enforces his will; and style, and defence where the boxer slips, parries and blocks punches,” Mathu concluded.
