Many are the Maltese boxing fans who often ask about the point scoring system of Olympic boxing. The majority of fans are aware that in amateur boxing protective head guards and vests are used, but many fail to grasp the scoring system of this sport.

Scoring in Amateur boxing is far different than scoring in the Professional ranks. Amateur boxing bouts consist of five judges that sit ringside with a four button electronic system. The electronic system consists of one blue button, one red button, and two warning buttons.

If a boxer from the red corner lands a clean blow on the boxer from the blue corner, three out of the five judges have a one second window in order to press the red button and allow the punch to count as a point for the red corner.

It’s the same with warnings. If the referee decides that he wants to warn a boxer for illegal moves and three of the fives judges sitting ringside are in agreement with the ref, then two points will be added to the instigators opponent. When both fighters engage in a heated exchange on the inside, the judges wait till they have finished their exchange and award a point to the boxer they feel got the better of the exchange.

In the amateur leagues, knockdowns and powerful punches are scored exactly the same as a jab would be. You can see by this way of scoring that power isn’t the objective in the amateur ranks. With this in mind, amateur boxers should focus on multiple, clean; effective blows rather than going for an all out knockout. If a knockout presents itself, then by all means a fighter should take it.

The amateur bout consists of three fast paced rounds; going all out with power and looking for a knockout could jeopardises boxer’s chances of being effective for the whole duration of the bout unless they are supremely conditioned.

If there isn’t a stoppage victory by the end of an amateur bout, the boxer who has picked up most points on the electronic system mentioned afore is declared the winner.