Decision

A "decision" occurs when a bout goes its scheduled duration (goes the distance). In some instances, however, a bout may end earlier than its scheduled duration because of an accidental head-butt, resulting in the need to go to the judges' scorecards for the decision, if a certain number of rounds have been fought (usually at least four rounds for bouts of longer duration).

In some jurisdictions, present day Great Britian being an example, and especially true in the past, the referee alone rendered the verdict. Or the referee and two judges sitting ringside. Today, it is common for three ringside judges to score the bout. Boxers earn points during the fight with successful punches to his opponent's head and body, knockdowns, and defense. A boxer can also lose points by committing a foul.

Types of decisions which may be rendered by the referee/judges include a win for one of the boxers (sometimes called a "win on points"), a draw, split-decision, majority decision, and majority draw.

Decision	Abbreviation	Explanation
Points Decision	PTS	A single scoring referee or judge has scored or the actual scores are unknown
Unanimous Decision	UD	All three judges have scored in agreement
Split Decision	SD	Two judges have scored in favour of one boxer and the other judge has scored in favour of the other
Majority Decision	MD	Two judges have scored in favour of one boxer and the other judge has scored in favour of a draw
Knock Out	KO	A boxer is knocked down and the referee has counted to 10 before he can rise
Technical Knock Out	TKO	The referee has stopped the fight due to a boxer being in no fit condition to continue
Disqualification	DQ	A boxer is disqualified by the referee and loses the bout when he repeatedly or severely fouls or infringes the rules.
Retirement	RTD	A boxer has retired between rounds