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WHAT DOES WENT THE DISTANCE MEAN IN BOXING?

Even though we all love boxing, all good things must come to an end and a winner must be decided. Overall in boxing, there are ultimately two ways for a fight to end, either it is finished, which can happen in several different ways, or it can be what is generally called going the distance. 

However, if you are just getting into either participating in or at least just watch in MMA boxing, you might not know what going the distance even means. Well, it's actually not as straightforward as some people might tell you, so we are going to break it down and let you know exactly what going the distance means when it comes to boxing.

When the Fight Goes the Distance

When someone says that a fight went the distance in boxing, they mean that the fight went for the full amount of time that was given to it, meaning that they finished all the rounds. It doesn’t matter if the fight is three rounds or twelve, if all the rounds are finished then it went the distance. This is by far the most common way that boxing matches end.

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what does go the distance mean in boxing

In the very common case that this happens, the fight will then be decided by the judges who utilize their scoring criteria to pick a winner. 

How Do Judges Score Fights

In boxing, fights are scored based on a 10-point system, with the winner of each round receiving 10 points and the loser receiving 9 or fewer points, depending on how much they were outperformed by their opponent. If a boxer is knocked down during a round, they usually lose a point. This leads to what is called a 10 - 8 round with the losing boxer getting 8 points because of the knockdown. 

If the round is considered even or too close to call, both boxers will receive 10 points. The three judges at ringside score the bout independently and the scores are added up at the end of the fight to determine the winner.

When it comes to how judges determine a winner, most judges tend to fall back on the four main elements known as the "Four Criteria" or "Four pillars" of scoring. These four criteria are, in order of importance: 

  1. Clean Punching: Referring to the number of clean or solid punches landed by a boxer. A clean punch is one that lands on the opponent's head or body without being blocked or deflected. Judges will look for punches that are effective and delivered with force and accuracy.
  2. Effective Aggression: This refers to a boxer's ability to dominate the fight and dictate the pace. Judges will look for the boxer who is making the fight, pressing the action, and landing the more effective punches. This is generally determined by whichever boxer was advancing forward more during a round but does not exclusively mean that as sometimes a fighter moving back can show more aggression. 
  3. Ring Generalship: Similar to Effective Aggression, this refers to a boxer's ability to control the ring, maintain the center of the ring, and use their footwork to cut off the opponent's angles. Judges will look for the boxer who is using their ring generalship to control the pace and flow of the fight.
  4. Defense: This refers to a boxer's ability to avoid or deflect punches thrown by their opponent. Judges will look for the boxer who is able to slip, block, or parry their opponent's punches effectively. This relies on a boxer being in a proper boxing stance and not showing damage from a judge’s perspective.

        These criteria can be rather subjective which has lead to judges having different scores for fighters in both individual rounds as well as in fights overall which can lead to some controversial judges' decisions if the fight goes the distance. 

        What Do the Different Kinds of Decisions Mean

        There are several different kinds of judges' decisions in boxing that can happen if a fight goes the distance. These are: 

        1. Unanimous Decision: This is when all three judges agree on the same fighter winning the bout. For example, if all three judges score the fight 118-110 in favor of Boxer A, then Boxer A wins by unanimous decision.
        2. Split Decision: This is when two judges score the bout in favor of one fighter, while the third judge scores it in favor of the other fighter. For example, if two judges score the fight 116-112 in favor of Boxer A, and the third judge scores it 115-113 in favor of Boxer B, then Boxer A wins by split decision.
        3. Majority Decision: This is when two judges score the fight in favor of one fighter, and the third judge scores it a draw. For example, if two judges score the fight 117-111 in favor of Boxer A, and the third judge scores it 114-114, then Boxer A wins by majority decision.
        4. Technical Decision: This is when a fight is stopped due to accidental injury or foul, and the judges' scorecards are consulted to determine the winner. The winner is determined based on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Note that the fight does not need to go the distance for this one to happen but the fight generally has to be half way complete for this type of decision to occur. 
        5. Technical Draw: This is when a fight is stopped due to an accidental injury or foul, and the judges' scorecards are consulted, but there is not enough completed rounds to render a decision. The bout is then ruled a technical draw. Once again this means the fight did not go the distance but this time there was not enough fight to consider scoring, this usually leads to a rematch. 
        6. Draw: This is when all three judges score the bout equally, resulting in a tie. For example, if all three judges score the fight 114-114, then the bout is ruled a draw. In the case of any draws in title fights, the title will remain with the champion. 
        7. Majority Draw: A majority draw is a decision made by the judges in a boxing match where two of the three judges score the fight as a draw (i.e., the scores are the same for both fighters), while the third judge scores in favor of one of the fighters. In this case the two draws over ride the one victory and it becomes a draw on both fighter's records.

        What Does It Mean if a Fight Doesn’t Go the Distance

        If a fight does not go the distance it means that it was finished before all the rounds are complete. This includes anything that stops a fight from the first round all the way to the last second of the last round. This includes the technical decision and technical draws that were mentioned previously but they are far from the only way that boxing matches are finished early and are fairly rare on top of that. 

        What Are Some Other Ways a Fight Can End

        In boxing, if a fight doesn’t go the distance, there are a few ways it can end, these include: 

        1. Knockout (KO): A knockout occurs when a boxer is knocked down and is unable to get up within a count of 10 by the referee, or if the referee stops the fight due to the boxer being unable to defend themselves. A knockout is a decisive victory and ends the fight immediately. 
        2. Technical Knockout (TKO): A technical knockout occurs when the referee stops the fight due to a boxer being unable to continue due to injury or being outclassed by their opponent. A TKO can also occur when a fighter's corner throws in the towel to protect their fighter from further damage as well.
        3. Disqualification (DQ): A disqualification occurs when a boxer violates the rules of the sport, and the referee or official disqualifies them from the fight. This results in an automatic loss for the disqualified boxer.

        How to Finish a Fight 

        If you don’t want your match to go the distance, which makes sense as it is very tiring, you can attempt to finish the fight. This is generally done with punches to the head but body shots can also shut down an opponent or at the very least slow them down and take away their stamina. If you want some analytics on finishes, don’t worry we got you. 

        As of 2021, CompuBox reports that the average knockout percentage for southpaw boxers in professional boxing is approximately 38.5%, while the average knockout percentage for orthodox boxers is around 40%. This suggests that there is no significant difference in knockout percentages between the two stances, but if you want to maximize your chances, it seems that being in an orthodox boxing stance is your best chance. 

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        went the distance in boxing

        You can also utilize switch stance boxing to confuse your opponent both from an attacking and a defensive perspective. Keep in mind that this can be very tiring especially if you do it often. 

        There are many factors that go into whether or not a fight gets finished though, which means the most important thing you can do is work on your skills to help finish an opponent.

        How to Prepare for a Fight Going the Distance 

        If you are a boxer and you think that your matches might end up going the distance, you will want to train your cardio conditioning. There are several ways to do this, including the classics like running for long periods of time and/or distances and jumping rope. More sport-specific work like heavy bag training, pad work and especially sparring. Try to also incorporate shark tank work, where you face multiple fresh sparring partners in one round, this will help build cardio and composure and even make fighting one opponent for a whole round feel easy.

        Don’t forget to integrate more explosive work like circuit training and sprints either as these also build endurance for your explosive burst that boxing has.

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