AboutLian Shoemake Expertise I can answer questions regarding rules for both pro and amateur boxing; upcoming bouts; fight analysis/predictions; various other questions. I am an experienced amateur boxing official with USA Boxing (14 years) and I have completed a yearlong professional officials` clinic with the California State Athletic Commission.
Question When watching boxing on HBO/Showtime etc., do the commentators ever know what the judges have scored the fight as it is going, after each round on or does nobody know until the end of the fight and the decision is rendered? It seems to me that there have been times that the announcer has announced what the score of the fight is while the fight is going on.
Thanks
Answer Hi Tony,
Thanks for the question.
The official scores of the judges are not announced until after the bout ends. After each round of a pro bout, you may notice that the referee goes to each judge and collects the judges' scorecard for each individual round. The ref takes those cards to the ringside commissioner or inspector, who records the scores and keeps the running tally. After the bout, he or she adds up all the scores, and the official decision is announced.
HBO has an "unofficial" judge keeping score for the viewing public as the fight progresses, but his scores are not official. Sometimes his score will match one or more of the official scores, which might be the reason for some confusion.
Showtime has boxing writers keeping unofficial scores during bouts, and periodically posts their scores during the fights.
I hope this helps, Tony.
Thanks again for writing!
Regards,
Lian
