“One of our main initiatives for this tournament was to address the issues of scoring and a general lack of consistency by judges which seems to occur on regular basis, “said Eric Bentley,COO of The Real Deal Boxing. “Working with the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission we’ve outlined standardized scoring criteria which will transcend the sport for the Jose Sulaiman World Invitational Tournament starting on Friday, April 27.”
Said 2017 Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee and award-winning analyst Steve Farhood, “The innovations that will be employed in the Jose Sulaiman World Invitational Tournament are fresh and exciting. The changes in scoring streamline and simplify the process and make scoring much easier for the average fan/viewer to understand.”
“The use of replay is also welcomed; in this regard, boxing has been stuck in the Middle Ages. And The Real Deal Boxing’s application of both pre- and post-fight MRIs suggest a deep commitment to boxer safety.’
“This is not boxing as it’s always been. It’s better.”
Concurred legendary boxing commentator and also 2017 Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee Barry Tompkins, “In a sport that is so laden with history that it sometimes gets in its own way, I believe the changes that are being made in this tournament are both noteworthy and needed. Having five judges score the fight cuts down on the possibility of error and creates a clearer verdict. Standardized scoring laid out in understandable language and not full of the current vagaries has been so needed in this sport for so long that I am simply amazed it hasn’t been addressed before.”
“And in this age of concussive damage awareness in athletes being so much at the fore, pre and post-fight MRI’s seems to me to be a no-brainer. As to qualified officials, that in my opinion should be a given. Unfortunately, it hasn’t always been.”
The standardized scoring criteria includes the following categories;
–Clean, effective punching
–Control (combination of Ring Generalship, Effective Aggression, and Defense)
Scoring-area (as defined by the Association of Boxing Commissions): from the top of the head moving down, splitting the ears. The punches landed forward of the middle of the ears are counted as a scoring punch. For the body, mentally take away the arms and run the imaginary line from the shoulders down the side to the navel or hip area. Punches landed forward of the imaginary line are counted as scoring punches. Punches landed at the top of the shoulders can be considered in the scoring area.
Clean, effective punching in the scoring-area should always be the determining factor. If unable to make a definitive determination as to who landed the cleaner punches, then judge should base score on control.
It is acceptable to score a round 10-8 when there is no knockdown if the boxer who wins the round displays “overwhelming dominance” over their opponent. For the purposes of this guideline, the term overwhelming dominance can be defined as “one boxer exhibiting absolute control over the entire round, wins the round in an excessive decisive manner, landing clean, effective punches as the opponent offers minimal competition. A 10-8 round can also be scored when a boxer is visibly hurt and/or staggered during that round.
Effective Punching can be defined as “legal punches that have the immediate or cumulative impact potential to contribute towards the end of the bout with immediate impact potential weighing more heavily than cumulative.”
Any boxer who scores one or more knockdowns than their opponent cannot lose the round. If a boxer gets knocked down but otherwise wins the round clearly and convincingly, the score should be 10-9 (or in rare cases 10-10 in the event of extreme dominance); all other situations should result in a 10-8 round (i.e. If a boxer who has exhibited overwhelming dominance is knocked down at the end of the round, the round may be scored 10-9 in the opponents’ favor as opposed to 10-8)
The scores must reflect all of the knockdowns in a round.
–Additional Judges to minimize margin of error by the KBWC
A 4th judge will be placed at the ring, and a 5th judge will be placed in front of a monitor with no audio commentary
–Open Scoring by the KBWC
The KBWC will employ Open Scoring between rounds 5 & 6; the judges names will be kept anonymous when scores are announced
–Assignment of Neutral Officials
The KBWC will only assign officials with credible experience in the sport; qualifications will include experience working at least 1,000 rounds in professional boxing. The officials will also need to be approved by the WBC and must submit at least two letters of recommendation from an approved regulatory agency
–Instant Replay
The KBWC will employ use of Instant Replay to determine knockdown vs. slip, punch vs. foul, or anything that determines the end of the bout. There will be a three-person panel consisting of a KBWC representative, a WBC representative, and an alternate referee. Only a member of the panel or the referee in charge can request a replay; the fighters or their corner cannot request a review. The panel will have the one-minute rest period to review, and both camps will be notified of any review.
–Fans determine the seeding of each fighter
Fans were given the opportunity to vote for how the seeding and 1st round matchups were determined via social media; the fan vote will account for 50% of the seeding, with the other 50% being determined by the WBC ratings representative(s)
–Health and Safety Advances
All boxers in the tournament will be enrolled in and required to contribute to:
WBC Clean Boxing Program
Presented by Evander Holyfield’s The Real Deal Boxing, in association with the World Boxing Council and Louisville’s Top Knotch, tickets starting at $35 are now on sale and be purchased through the KFC Yum! Center box office, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. The KFC Yum! Center is located at 1 Arena Plaza, Louisville, KY 40202. Doors will open on the night of the event at 6:00 p.m. with the first bell at 7:00 p.m.
The schedule of first round fights for the tournament representing eight countries are;
#1 ranked FELIX DIAZ, (19-2-0, 9 KO’s) of Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic will clash with #8 ranked FRANCISCO SANTANA, (26-6-1, 12 KO’s), of Santa Barbara, CA, representing Mexico.
#2 ranked CHRIS VAN HEERDEN, (25-2-1, 12 KO’s) of Johannesburg, South Africa, faces #7 ranked TIMO SCHWARZKOPF, (18-1-0, 10 KO’s) of Stuttgart, Germany.
#3 ranked FREDRICK LAWSON, (26-1-0, 21 KO’s), of Accra, Ghana, battles #6 ranked BAISHANBO NASIYWULA,(13-1-1, 6 KO’s), of Urumqi, China.
#4 ranked PADDY GALLAGHER, (13-3-0, 8 KO’s), of Belfast, Northern Ireland, faces #5 ranked BRAD SOLOMON,(27-1-0, 9 KO’s), of Douglasville, Georgia.
All bouts are scheduled for ten rounds. An additional alternate will be announced shortly.
