incredulous-olympics-boxing-scoring-system-sparks-debate

Whether it’s a split decision or unanimous, the scoring system in Boxing has surely sparked debate all around. The unclear criteria on which the judges decide has contributed immensely to the conundrum of results for the pugilists in the Olympics.

 

Many world champion pugilists have found themselves losing medals in the world’s major sports events that is- the quadrennial Olympics.

 

 The latest case in point is India's Nishant Dev, who lost 1-4 to Mexico's Marco Verde Alvarez in the 71kg quarterfinal despite seemingly dominating the contest.

 

He isn't the first and if boxing's stakeholders continue to avoid introspection, he won't be the last or perhaps, he could be among the last in the Olympics at least. The sport's inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 edition is not yet guaranteed and the opaque scoring system isn't helping the cause.

 

"These Olympics have been horrendous," declared Michael Conlan, the Irish superstar, whose famous expletive-laden tirade against judges after losing in the 2016 Rio quarterfinals is considered one of the most defining images of the state of the sport.

 

For a sport that relies on a simple exchange of blows to decide the winner, boxing has an incredibly complex scoring system.

 

And every Olympics, the debate, the rage, and the incredulousness surrounding what exactly the judges are observing to decide the winner becomes louder and more intense.

 

In the Tokyo 2020 Games, it was the iconic M C Mary Kom, who left the ring perplexed when she lost a pre-quarterfinal bout despite actually leading in terms of rounds won.

 

"The worst part is that there is no review or protest. Honestly, I am sure the world must have seen, this is too much what they have done," she had told PTI at that time.

 

The Indian had trailed 4-1 in the opening round against Colombia's Ingrid Valencia.

 

In the next two rounds, Mary Kom got three of the five judges to rule in her favour but the overall scoreline was still in favour of Valencia. The Manipuri clinched the third round too but once again, it was 3-2 and not 4-1 which was what she needed to swing the final score in her favour.

 

Indian boxer turned actor Vijender Singh exhorted support to Dev on X, "I don't know what's the scoring system but I think very close fight..he plays so well..koi na bhai.”

 

His comment reflects the sense of disbelief that a lot of scorecards prompt and it has never been confusing for the average viewer ever since boxing became an Olympic sport back in 1904.

 

Some perspectives on how amateur boxing's scoring system evolved over the years

 

1988, Seoul Olympics :

Although the 1960 Rome Olympics saw a bunch of officials being asked to stand down by the International Olympic Committee after ruling a controversial bout, the "robbery" in the 1988 Seoul Games was what dented boxing's reputation more severely.

 

American Roy Jones Jr was taking on home favorite Park-Si-Hun in the 71kg gold medal bout. Despite landing 86 punches to the Korean's 32, Roy Jones watched his opponent's hand being raised as the winner.

 

He turned professional a year later and went on to become a world champion in four different weight categories but he could never get rid of the anger of losing that final.

 

"To see an opposition hand be raised by crooked judges, to have a wrong and injustice not being fixed...I earned a gold medal that night in Seoul in 1988," Jones said years later.

 

Computer scoring comes in at the 1992 Games 

The world governing body for amateur boxing responded to the outcry with a change in the scoring system for the 1992 Barcelona Games.

 

This system seemed more transparent as each of the five judges had a keypad with red and blue buttons (representing the two opposite corners of the ring). They had to simply press the button for the corner, which they felt, had landed the scoring punch.

 

Three of the five judges had to do it within a second for a boxer to score a point. From the look of it, the system seemed fine as all one had to do was land a clear scoring punch on the target area. The scores were also displayed live to make it easier for a viewer to understand the proceedings.

 

But after a while complaints came in that the system made boxers more defensive after taking a comfortable lead, that they were only focussed on hitting straight, and that there was no ring craft or diversity of punches to be seen.

 

Eventually, in 2011, it was decided that an average of three scores out of the five given by the judge's panel would be considered for the final decision based on the similarity of points handed. The live display of scores was halted and the outcome was shown only at the end of the round to add excitement.

 

In 2013, the International Boxing Association decided to go with the professional style 10-point scoring system in which a boxer, aside from clean punches, was also rated on his defensive prowess, his ability to control the ring, and overall aggression, making the entire exercise highly subjective.

 

Michael Conlan lets it rip at the 2016 Rio Olympics 

Not long before when a boxer tore apart the system while standing in front of its representatives.

 

Conlan did just that in Rio.

 

The judges were shamed by then-world champion, Colan who lost his quarterfinal despite monstrous domination that left his opponent incapable of competing in his next bout.

 

The AIBA, at that time, responded by suspending Conlan instead of acting on the issues he raised. The Irishman treated that suspension with disdain and turned professional.

 

In 2021, an investigation commissioned by AIBA itself "revealed a system for manipulating results at Rio 2016". In all, 36 judges were suspended but perhaps in a reflection of the scoring system's opaqueness, their names were never revealed.

Conlan stood vindicated.

 

"So wait... does this mean I get my medal now @Olympics," he had famously asked on X.

 

Nobody has been able to answer him to this day.