Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/boxing-rules-and-regulations

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Majority decision

Winning criterion in combat sports

Winning criterion in combat sports

A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and other sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on which fighter won the match, while the third judge indicates that neither fighter won (i.e., a "draw").

In boxing, each of the three judges allocates a score (round by round) for each fighter. If all scheduled rounds are completed (i.e., no knockout (technical included)), each judge totals the points for all rounds. If the same fighter scores more points than the other on two of the judges' scorecards, but the third judge scored equally for both fighters (a draw), the official victory is awarded to the agreed-upon (by a 2 to 1 'majority') fighter. If all judges rule for the same boxer, the decision is referred to as a unanimous decision.

The majority decision is frequently confused with the term split decision, but they are not the same. A split decision occurs when two judges pick the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge decides that the opposite fighter won. On very rare occasions, two judges vote for a draw while the third chooses a winner—this is a majority draw.

Notable examples

DateFightScorecardsSource
November 6, 1993Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II115–113 Holyfield115–114 Holyfield
April 22, 1994Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer116–112 Moorer115–114 Moorer
May 10, 1996Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer96–94 Lewis96–95 Lewis
November 8, 2003Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr.117–111 Jones116–112 Jones
December 20, 2008Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield116–112 Valuev115–114 Valuev
November 12, 2011Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III116–112 Pacquiao115–113 Pacquiao
September 14, 2013Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez117–111 Mayweather116–112 Mayweather
May 3, 2014Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana I117–111 Mayweather116–112 Mayweather
June 21, 2014Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr.116–112 Lomachenko116–112 Lomachenko
August 16, 2014Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook117–111 Brook116–112 Brook
August 20, 2016Nate Diaz vs. McGregor II48–47 McGregor48–47 McGregor
December 10, 2016Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.115–113 Parker115–113 Parker
September 16, 2018Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II115–113 Álvarez115–113 Álvarez
January 27, 2018Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis115–113 Usyk115–113 Usyk
March 18, 2023Edwards vs. Usman III48–46 Edwards48-46 Edwards
April 20, 2024Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia115–109 Garcia114–110 Garcia
October 12, 2024Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol116–112 Beterbiev115–113 Beterbiev
February 22, 2025Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol II116–112 Bivol115–113 Bivol

References

References

  1. "Decision - BoxRec".
  2. "Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield (2nd meeting) - BoxRec".
  3. "Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer (1st meeting) - BoxRec".
  4. "Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer - BoxRec".
  5. "Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. (1st meeting) - BoxRec".
  6. "Nikolay Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield - BoxRec".
  7. "Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (3rd meeting) - BoxRec".
  8. "Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Saul Alvarez - BoxRec".
  9. "Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana - BoxRec".
  10. "Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr. - BoxRec".
  11. "Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook - BoxRec".
  12. Thomas, Luke. (21 August 2016). "UFC 202 results: Conor McGregor defeats Nate Diaz via majority decision". MMA Fighting.
  13. "Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz Jr - BoxRec".
  14. "Gennady Golovkin vs. Saul Alvarez (2nd meeting) - BoxRec".
  15. "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis - BoxRec".
  16. "UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3 Results, Fight Card and News - MMA Fighting".
  17. "Ryan Garcia vs Devin Haney - BoxRec".
  18. "Beterbiev vs. Bivol".
  19. (2025-02-23). "Beterbiev vs Bivol 2: Dmitry Bivol majority decision points win over Artur Beterbiev".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

boxing-rules-and-regulations
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Majority decision — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report