Meet the referee and judges who will oversee Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron

US referee Sparkle Lee, who was the women in the middle when Taylor controversially defeated Belgium’s Delfine Persoon on a split decision at Madison Square Garden in 2019 to become the undisputed lightweight world champion will again be the third person in the ring.

She has the authority to stop the contest if in her judgement one fighter can no longer defend themselves and is being pounded or is unable to continue after a count of ten.

The ring-side doctor can also halt the contest if one of the boxers cannot continue for medical reasons for example a bad cut around their eye which is impairing their sight.

The respective trainers can also end the contest by throwing a white towel into the ring.

More usually though the three ringside judges decide the outcome. In championship fights it is mandatory to have three neutral judges. Craig Metcalfe (Canada),Raul Caiz Jr (USA) and Patrick Morley (USA) are the judges for Taylor v Cameron.

Each of the ten rounds is scored individually by the three judges who sit separately at ringside and do not confer. Their score cards are collected after each round and handed to another official to tabulate.

The system is known as the 10-Point Must System and here how it works:

Most rounds are scored 10-9 with the boxer who the judges believe did the better scoring receiving 10 points and his/her opponent receiving nine.

However, if a boxer is knocked down and receives a standing count the judges will score the round 10-8. In exceptional cases where one boxer is completely dominant the round will also be scored 10-8.

If both boxers receive a standing count, then they cancel each other out and the round will be scored 10-9 based on who was the better fighter in the judges’ eyes.

The officials are also able to award a 10-10 round if believe there has been nothing between the fighters. However, 10-10 scores are discouraged and are rarely used because of the danger of the score becoming a fall-back position for judges.

Boxers can have points deducted for intentional fouls such as a low blows, holding, rabbit punches, head butting or in the infamous case of Mike Tyson biting his opponent’s ear. The referee can instruct all three judges to deduct one point from the fighter in that round.

In exceptional cases the referee can disqualify a fighter for committed repeated infringements or refusing to box.

Assuming tonight’s fight goes the ten rounds the scores on the judges’ three cards will be tabulated and a winner announced by the fight MC David Diamante.

The maximum number of points any of the three judges can award a fighter tonight is 100 which mean they won all ten rounds. But the result is likely to be a lot closer. The three judges may not agree on who is the winner.

There are six possible outcomes:

Unanimous decision: All three judges have the same fighter ahead on their scorecards.

Split decision: Two judges have boxer A ahead, while the third judge has boxer B ahead. Boxer A wins on a split 2-1 decision.

Majority decision: Two judges have Boxer A ahead while the third judge scored the fight a draw. Boxer A wins on a majority 2-0 decision.

Unanimous Draw: All three judges can a score the fight a draw.

Split Draw: One judge has boxer A ahead; one judge has boxer B ahead and the third judge scores the bout a draw. The overall result is a draw.

Majority Draw: Two judges score the fight a draw, but the third judge has Boxer A ahead. However, as this is a minority view the result is announced as a majority draw.

When the verdict is a draw (unanimous, split or majority) the defending champion keeps their title though there be a rematch.

In the event of tonight’s final ending in a draw Chantelle Cameron, as the defending super lightweight title holder, will keep her belts as remain the champion in the 140lb division.