A newspaper decision was a type of decision in
professional boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
. It was rendered by a consensus of
sportswriter
Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...
s attending a bout after it had ended inconclusively with a "
no decision
A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports.
Baseball and softball
A starting pitcher who leaves a game witho ...
", as many regions had not adopted the
National Sporting Club of London's rules regarding judges and referees. A "no decision" occurred when, either under the sanctioning of state boxing law or by an arrangement between the fighters, both boxers were still standing at the end of a fight and there had been no
knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...
, no official decision had been made, and neither boxer was declared the winner. The sportswriters covering the fight, after reaching a consensus, would declare a winner – or render the bout a
draw – and print the newspaper decision in their publications. Officially, however, a "no decision" bout resulted in neither boxer winning or losing, and would therefore not count as part of their official fight record.
This should not be confused with the unrelated and contemporary term, "
no contest
' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense.
In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant ne ...
".
The development of boxing scoring, initially by round scoring by the referee and two judges, to the modern three judges with the ten-point system, has eliminated this practice.
References
Boxing rules and regulations
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