Majority decision
Encyclopedia
A majority decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sport
s, such as boxing
, kickboxing
, Muay Thai
, mixed martial arts
and others 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 figher won (i.e., a "draw
").
In boxing, each of the three judges keep score (round by round) of which fighter he / she feels is winning (and losing). 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 2 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 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 choses a winner -- this is a majority draw
.
.
Combat sport
A Combat sport, also known as a Fighting sport, is a competitive contact sport where two combatants fight against each other using certain rules of engagement , typically with the aim of simulating parts of real hand to hand combat...
s, such as boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
, Muay Thai
Muay Thai
Muay Thai is a combat sport from Thailand that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. It is similar to other Indochinese kickboxing systems, namely pradal serey from Cambodia, tomoi from Malaysia, lethwei from Myanmar and muay Lao from Laos...
, mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
and others sports involving striking
Strike (attack)
A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...
. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on which fighter won the match, while the third judge indicates that neither figher won (i.e., a "draw
Draw
Draw, draws or drawn may refer to:* The act of drawing, or making an image with a writing utensil* A part of many card games* A part of a lottery* Wire drawing...
").
In boxing, each of the three judges keep score (round by round) of which fighter he / she feels is winning (and losing). 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 2 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 a Unanimous Decision
Unanimous decision
A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....
.
The majority decision is frequently confused with the term split decision
Split decision
A split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...
, 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 choses a winner -- this is a majority draw
Majority draw
A majority draw is an outcome in several full-contact combat sports, including boxing, mixed martial arts, and others sports involving striking. In a majority draw, two of the three judges agree that neither fighter won , while the third judge indicates one fighter being the clear winner on his/her...
.
History
From the 1930s through the 1950s many American newspapers erroneously reported a majority decision as a split decisionSplit decision
A split decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which two of the three judges score for the same fighter as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other...
.