If you have ever gone red in the face after a boxing referee’s decision, you’re not alone. Boxing fans like to state, “If I were that judge, I would not have faulted that”, but some might actually mean it! So if you’re one of those, tune in on this comprehensive article on how to become a boxing judge!
A Boxing Judge’s Duties
To become a boxing judge, you must head to your State’s Athletic Commissions to check for hirings and start training under the region’s course. There are many region-specific qualifications you must earn before you can work officially as a judge, and shadow-judging is a must in the process. But, let’s halt for a minute.
Before we can even discuss the arduous road of training to be a boxing judge, we must understand what kind of rocks a judge has on his shoulder. That one guy you see joining the ring with the boxers and the one you yell at when a fault is not made to your standards isn’t the only judge.
Based on the rules and the point system applied on a match, there can be up to 3 ring-side judges that observe the fight from multiple angles. Since the judges have to take in a lot of movements like hits, knocks, and player’s strategies to assign points, their positioning within the match can be strategic.
The one in the ring is never responsible for counting points but rather monitoring them and physically ensuring the boxers follow the rules. He is not called a judge but a referee. So while it is right for you to be angry at his assigning faults, the final points are not his duties at all!
Weirdly, the person you often see on stage is not the judge but a referee.
After reading this guide, you will still not be the guy in the ring, so you can leave this article if that is what you’re heading towards. This article will mainly focus on how to be a boxing judge – the specialist who observes the fight from the outside to give points, and how to become qualified enough to shoulder such duty.
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How To Become A Boxing Judge
The journey to training as a boxing judge is going to be very tough and demanding. If you wish to work in the US, you should know that each State has its own guidelines and job description, so it is going to be unnecessarily complicated to work around the country.
Also, as an effort to prevent judge surplus, some regions will refuse to license any judge if there is no empty spot in their current line-up. Before going the mile, please make sure your State’s athletic commission is hiring. Only when all those elements align should you start getting qualifications.
You cannot be a boxing judge if your State is not hiring.
After checking for a position vacancy, you may start contacting the same aforementioned office for permission to become a boxing judge. That is the first step to every judge’s plan on turning professional in their State. Consulting the State’s commission will also lend you the information you need, such as necessary qualifications and physical requirements.
Here should be where the answer to “how do you become a boxing judge?” actually comes from. Most of the US States will have their own program to train judges and provide them with state-bound certifications. This is the reason why it is going to be pretty hard if you want to work outside your own region since there is a chance that you will have to train all over again.
The good news is that even if you have no prior bump-in with boxing, you will still have a chance at judging. During the training process, an amateur judge will be taught a set of basic moves since being in a match directly helps you get a more thorough understanding of the sport.
Depending on your State’s training process, this sort of physical involvement is even compulsory to become a boxing judge. Nevertheless, you should still try to complete the USA Boxing Level Certificate: It’s easy to get at any boxing facility, and the experience will aid you in your training!
Aside from getting physical experience, you should also hone your skills by shadowing other fellows in the field and watch how professional matches are judged. Trust us when we say you’re going to need a lot of passive-judging before you can even join an amateur fight.
A lot of your work is dependent on connections, so please be sure to head out and look for a mentor for yourself. A mentor will pass on to you a lot of career wisdom that no theoretical curriculum can give you. He should be able to help you form connections with other professionals in the field as well!
Getting a mentor in the field can open you to new chances!
After all your preparation efforts, it is still going to be relatively hard to get yourself a job as a boxing judge. But do not waste your time moping about missed opportunities; spend this time to sharpen your reflexes, observation skills, and work ethics.
Other Factors In The Deal
If you truly want to be involved with the big leagues and become a professional boxing judge, the process will be even more complex, as there will be more licenses to earn.
And the most expensive certification of all is the license straight from your State’s athletic commission. We cannot tell you how much the license costs because its price varies from state to state.
It will be costly, but overall, such a license is a long-term investment for your career.
Usually, a boxing judge is also paid by matches like boxers in a match. Sometimes, they even get paid per view for important matches of the year. On average, a boxing judge salary can go from $100,000 to $250,000 every year!
Outro: And that is all you need to know about how to become a boxing judge! We hope that you have enough passion for pursuing this career prospect and enough courage to step onto the ring and receive criticisms as your forerunners have. And most of all, we wish you luck!
