Mailbag! Why do boxers always touch their nose?

Whenever I watch boxing, I see the boxers touch their noses a lot. What's up with that?

There's no "real"/definitive answer for why this might be. However, some likely causes are:

• The boxer just got popped in the nose and is checking to see if it's broken/bloody
  
  
• The skin on the boxer's nose is irritated from getting jacked or other things Doc Dill discussed a while back
  
  
• They're checking to see where their hands are - if you can touch your nose, you know your hands are basically in the right spot
  
  
• Doing it as a means of "resetting" themselves, similar to clapping gloves
  
  
• Picked up the habit in the gym

Congratulations, Kerstin!

WWNHH? wants to send a shout out to classmate/sparring partner Kerstin who won her debut boxing match last week! Kerstin won via decision against a very tough opponent.

Understanding the Ten-Point Must System

by Mike

The ten-point must system is used in nearly every professional boxing match as well as in many kickboxing and MMA matches.

Why is it called the Ten-Point Must system?

Because the winner must get ten points. It is possible for the winner to actually get less than ten points despite winning a round (for instance, if they were knocked down or penalized by the referee).*

The Ten-Point Must system is subtractive, that is, the winner gets the maximum number of points while the loser gets fewer.

Criteria for judging the winner of a round

The Association for Boxing Commissions' Regulatory Guidelines list four criteria for determining the winner of a round:

• Clean striking
  
  
• Effective aggression
  
  
• Ring generalship
  
  
• Defense
  

In theory, an equal weight is applied to each of the above criteria, but in practice, they seem to be ranked in order of importance.

Draws

Judges are encouraged to not score a round a draw, however, in the case that no clear winner could be determined from the four criteria, both fighters will be awarded ten points.

Ways to lose points

If the winner gets ten points, the loser automatically gets nine. Further points could be deducted for:

• Knockdowns - if a fighter is knocked down (not a slip!), one point is deducted from that fighter.
  
  
• Fouls - the referee may instruct the judges to deduct a point if a fighter commits a foul. Judges cannot deduct points on their own.
  
  
• If one fighter is severely outclassed by their opponent but still finishes the round, the judge may award the losing fighter less than nine points.

At the end of a round, the judges score the round and their cards are collected. Judges may not revise their scores after they have been submitted.

Outcomes

If the fight goes to the last round with no winner by KO/TKO, etc. the judges' scores are totaled and read. The total score determines the fighter that judge chooses (that is, the total number of points are irrelevant, only which fighter has the most points on that judge's card).

Possible results of the ten-point system are:

• Unanimous Decision - All three judges select the same fighter as the winner
  
  
• Split Decision - Two judges score the fight for one fighter and one judge scores the fight for the other fighter
  
  
• Majority Decision - Two judges score the fight for one fighter and one judge scores the fight a draw
  
  
• Draw - All three judges score the fight equally between the two fighters
  
  
• Majority Draw - Two judges score the fight a draw and one judge shows one of the two fighters winning

* MMA fans may remember Ortiz/Evans, where Tito was penalized a point for fence-grabbing. That deduction turned the fight from a unanimous decision victory to a draw.

The Real Reason boxers fight left hand forward

by Mike

Granted, this belongs in the category of "things I can't prove one way or the other," but here's my take on it.

I'd received a lot of answers when I'd researched/asked this question.

"You want your power hand in back so you can find distance and then drop a big right on them."

Nah, there are plenty of martial arts that think the power-side should go first so you can hit more often with it.

"Back in the beginnings of boxing, two guys would just grab each other by the hair and then start pounding in each other's faces. You wanted to be able to throw your power hand."

Not buying it. Could you imagine if every fight looked like Frye/Takayama?

Thought about it a little and then it dawned on me:

Boxers tend to fight left hand forward because it protects your liver.

"Body shots are a lost art" may be a trite saying for people trying to sell "lost art of body shot" DVDs, but anyone whose gotten caught with even a solid shot to the liver knows that it affects you more than an equally hard shot to the dome. (Those who have never seen the effects of a liver shot before should check out Hopkins/De La Hoya or MMA fans can see McCarthy/Loiseau or more recently, Buentello/Overeem)

If you fight in a left lead, you keep your liver away from the easy shots (jabs and crosses), your opponent needs to get inside and throw shovel hooks to start targeting the liver. Theoretically if they're inside, you have some options while they're moving in and you can tie up, etc., or at least have the opportunity for your own body shots.


Flickr photo from Wildebeast1

Mailbag! How do boxers drink with their mouthguards in?

Q. How do boxers drink while wearing mouthguards?

A. They usually take them out.

Especially in between rounds of a fight, the corner will pull the mouthguard out so the fighter can get back into this breathing rhythm and use the rest period to calm down.

Even keeping the mouthguard in doesn't generally present too much of a problem for drinking as many fighters use a single-mouthguard that fits onto the top teeth and allows you much more room to open your mouth than a double mouthguard.

Fighters shouldn't be drinking a lot in between rounds anyway - the water will rarely be absorbed quickly enough to make a difference in the fight and getting waterlogged in between rounds is generally a bad idea. Just "wetting the whistle" is generally enough to keep from getting cottonmouth which is just one more thing that could distract a fighter during a match.

You'll note that when a fighter drinks in between rounds, it's not out of a cup, but generally a cornerman squeezes the water out of a squeeze bottle, as it's awfully hard to grab something with those big gloves on.

This question actually came as a search term someone used to find the site. Got any questions for Sifu Z, Doc Dill or the rest of the WWNHH crew? Mail 'em in.

Flickr photo by nogoodreason