Majority decision

Last updated

A majority decision (MD) 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 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"). [1]

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, 1993 Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II 115–113 Holyfield115–114 Holyfield114–114 [2]
April 22, 1994 Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer 116–112 Moorer115–114 Moorer114–114 [3]
May 10, 1996 Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer 96–94 Lewis96–95 Lewis95–95 [4]
November 8, 2003 Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. 117–111 Jones116–112 Jones114–114 [5]
December 20, 2008 Nikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield 116–112 Valuev115–114 Valuev114–114 [6]
November 12, 2011 Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez III 116–112 Pacquiao115–113 Pacquiao114–114 [7]
September 14, 2013 Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez 117–111 Mayweather116–112 Mayweather114–114 [8]
May 3, 2014 Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana I 117–111 Mayweather116–112 Mayweather114–114 [9]
June 21, 2014 Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr. 116–112 Lomachenko116–112 Lomachenko114–114 [10]
August 16, 2014 Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook 117–111 Brook116–112 Brook114–114 [11]
August 20, 2016 Nate Diaz vs. McGregor II 48–47 McGregor48–47 McGregor47–47 [12]
December 10, 2016 Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. 115–113 Parker115–113 Parker114–114 [13]
September 16, 2018 Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II 115–113 Álvarez115–113 Álvarez114–114 [14]
January 27, 2018 Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis 115-113 Usyk115-113 Usyk114–114 [15]

Related Research Articles

<i>HBO World Championship Boxing</i> American TV sports series (1973–2018)

HBO World Championship Boxing is an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973 with a fight that saw George Foreman defeat Joe Frazier in Kingston, Jamaica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Boxing Council</span> Sanctioning organization for professional boxing bouts

The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evander Holyfield</span> American boxer (born 1962)

Evander Holyfield is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the three belt era. Nicknamed "the Real Deal", Holyfield is the only four-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBA, WBC, and IBF titles from 1990 to 1992, the WBA and IBF titles again from 1993 to 1994, the WBA title a third time from 1996 to 1999; the IBF title a third time from 1997 to 1999 and the WBA title for a fourth time from 2000 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floyd Mayweather Jr.</span> American boxer and boxing promoter (born 1977)

Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and won 15 major world championships from super featherweight to light middleweight. This includes the Ring magazine title in three weight classes and the lineal championship in four weight classes. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal in the featherweight division at the 1996 Olympics, three U.S. Golden Gloves championships, and the U.S. national championship at featherweight.

A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.</span> Boxing competition

Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., billed as The World Awaits, was a super welterweight superfight that took place on May 5, 2007, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada between six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya and undefeated four-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. At the time, the bout was the most lucrative boxing match ever, with over $130 million in generated revenue.

A majority draw is an outcome in several full-contact combat sports, including boxing, mixed martial arts (MMA), and other 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 winner on his/her scorecard. Thus, the majority of judges see the outcome as even and the result is announced as such, although one judge gave a victory on his/her card to one fighter.

Showtime Championship Boxing was a television boxing program airing on Showtime. Debuting in March 1986, it is broadcast live on the first Saturday of every month. Showtime Championship Boxing, which is very similar to HBO World Championship Boxing, features Mauro Ranallo on play-by-play, Al Bernstein as the color analyst, Jimmy Lennon as ring announcers, and Jim Gray as reporter.

Kenny Bayless is an American boxing referee from Nevada. He is best known for having refereed many of the sport's most well-known fights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canelo Álvarez</span> Mexican boxer (born 1990)

Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán, commonly known as Canelo, is a Mexican professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of those weight classes and lineal titles in two. Álvarez is the first and only boxer in history to become undisputed champion at super middleweight, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and Ring magazine titles since 2020, and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz</span> Boxing competition

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz, billed as Star Power, was a championship fight for Ortiz's WBC welterweight title. The bout was held on September 17, 2011, at the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada, Nevada and televised via HBO PPV. As a part of a split-site doubleheader, the broadcast also featured the Saul Alvarez vs. Alfonso Gomez light middleweight championship bout taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto</span> Boxing competition

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Miguel Cotto, billed as Ring Kings, was a boxing super welterweight bout held on May 5, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Mayweather won the fight by unanimous decision in what was deemed to be a clear, but very competitive and exciting victory for Floyd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II</span> 1993 boxing match

Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield II, billed as Repeat or Revenge, was a professional boxing match that took place on November 6, 1993, for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer</span> Boxing competition

Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer was a professional boxing match contested on April 22, 1994, for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis II</span> Boxing competition

Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis II, was a professional boxing match contested on November 13, 1999 for the WBA, WBC, IBF, and vacant IBO undisputed heavyweight championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez</span> Boxing competition

Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Canelo Álvarez, billed as The One, was a boxing light middleweight championship superfight. The bout was held on September 14, 2013, in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, on Showtime PPV. The bout took place at a 152-pound catchweight, two pounds below the light middleweight limit of 154 pounds. Mayweather received $41.5 million for this fight before taking into account pay-per-view sales.

A split draw is an outcome in several full-contact combat sports, including boxing, mixed martial arts, and other sports involving striking. In a split draw, one of the three judges scores the contest in favor of one fighter, another judge scores it in favor of either fighter, and the third judge scores the contest as a draw. The decision is announced as a draw.

Francisco Hernan Fonseca Lira is a Nicaraguan professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the IBF super featherweight title in 2017 and 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs. Evander Holyfield</span> Boxing competition

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as "Pandemonium" was a professional boxing match contested on July 12, 1986 for the WBA Junior Heavyweight championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ruiz vs. James Toney</span> Boxing competition

John Ruiz vs. James Toney was a professional boxing match contested on April 30, 2005, for the WBA heavyweight championship.

References

  1. ↑ "Decision - BoxRec".
  2. ↑ "Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield (2nd meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  3. ↑ "Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer (1st meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  4. ↑ "Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  5. ↑ "Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. (1st meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  6. ↑ "Nikolay Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  7. ↑ "Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez (3rd meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  8. ↑ "Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Saul Alvarez - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  9. ↑ "Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  10. ↑ "Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gary Russell Jr. - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  11. ↑ "Shawn Porter vs. Kell Brook - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  12. ↑ Thomas, Luke (21 August 2016). "UFC 202 results: Conor McGregor defeats Nate Diaz via majority decision". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz Jr - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  14. ↑ "Gennady Golovkin vs. Saul Alvarez (2nd meeting) - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  15. ↑ "Oleksandr Usyk vs. Mairis Briedis - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2021-06-10.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.