Boxing Judges

Friday was the 5th session of the WBC Talks. This time the topic was boxing judges, two sessions in English and Spanish.

English-Language Panelists
Hubert Minn, WBC Ring Officials Committee Chairman
Duane Ford, NABF President
Steve Morrow WBC Ring Officials Committee Vice-Chairman
Craig Metcalfe, H. WBC Judge
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman
Moderator: Victor Silva

This time our panelists, who are some of the best boxing judges in the world, had an amazing chat regarding important judging aspects:

Judging Criteria
Affective aggression
Tabboo on scoring 10-8 without a knockdown
Memories on their first title fight
Scoring controversial rounds
Pressure and neutrality
Code of Ethics
Honorability
How judges get their score.

And many other interesting aspects. We urge the boxing community to watch this video as the conversation they had is very illustrative towards how to judge a fight.

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Spanish-Language Panelists
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman
José Manzur -Judge
Juan Carlos Pelayo -Judge
Omar Mintum -Judge
Victor Silva – Mediator

The President of the WBC, Mr. Mauricio Sulaimán started this WBC TALK, thanking all those who have made this possible, those who have followed the broadcasts and of course all the panelists who have gathered throughout the week to share your experiences and knowledge.

He explained that the task of a judge is of vital importance since they are the ones who administer and temper justice inside the ring. They must, therefore, conduct themselves with absolute integrity and honor. A judge must have specific qualities and above, he/she must learn to focus maximum concentration from the moment the bell rings.

A judge must have eyes on the fight during the three minutes of the round, must have no preference for any boxer or country and be absolutely impartial. At this point, he assured that the World Boxing Council has honorable judges who would never compromise or betray the basic values ​​of the WBC.

He added that when the WBC appoints a panel of judges, the boxer can be sure that the victory will be for whoever did the best job up in the ring.

Mr. Jose Manzur explained that the greatest quality that a judge must have is impartiality and the ability to focus since sometimes it is difficult to achieve this, since being in the arena many factors can affect concentration. He assured that when he receives an appointment for a fight The first thing he does is watch videos of the fighters to find out their styles. He commented that good judging is done through constancy, watching videos and studying, understanding that this thorough and dedicated work represents the future of a fighter.

For Omar Mintum, the work of a judge must be very precise, since they must record on the cards what is happening above in the ring and, like our other panelists, it is very important to arrive prepared for the fight that was assigned to them.

He assured that all the judges start their career in four-round fights and from there, according to their results, they climb until they reach the great fights, where one should never yield to public pressure.

The judge, as previously mentioned, must be impartial and only be attentive to what happens.

Juan Carlos Pelayo, was emphatic when saying that the impartiality with which he qualifies has to do with the judge’s experience since one must identify the most effective fighter. it is his responsibility to judge him impartially and fairly. He added that passion for boxing is essential for a judge because that is the origin of the need to become the man who administers justice.

Among many of the topics that were addressed, was the fear that many judges have when giving a score of 10-8; However, the leader of the organization assured that one of the tasks of the WBC is to educate the judges that when a fighter has been visibly punished and has not given opposition, the round should be given on 10-8.

Responding to the doubts of the fans, who should be noted were very active, the invited judges as well as the President of the WBC, assured that the score of 10-10 exists, although it is not seen much, as there is usually always a winner of the round. However, it can happen even though some commissions are prohibited from 10-10.

To conclude, our judges agreed after seeing some examples of how to qualify a fight, that to give a fighter the round, he must show effective aggressiveness and that a fight is not won in a single round (unless there is a knockout) but round after round.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish our best to Jose´s Manzur family as his daughter is fighting against COVID-19. We are sure she will win this fight by KO!

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