<p>Discover what those abbreviations on the scorecards actually mean and how each decision type affects your bets.</p> <p>When a fight goes the distance, three judges decide who won. The way their scorecards line up tells you how close it was and whether they agreed. That's where the abbreviations come in: UD, SD, MD, TD. Pay attention, because each one means something slightly different.</p> <p>For betting purposes, it usually doesn't matter which type of decision you get. A win by decision is a win by decision. But knowing the terminology helps you read results, size up fighters, and understand why some wins look more convincing than others. If you're new to <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/boxing">betting on boxing</a>, this is essential knowledge.</p> <h2>Unanimous Decision (UD)</h2> <p>All three judges scored the fight for the same boxer. The numbers don't need to match, they just need to point in the same direction. One judge might have it 118-110, another 116-112, the third 115-113. Three cards for the same fighter means unanimous.</p> <p>A UD usually signals a clear winner, though not always. Tight fights can still produce unanimous results if one boxer edges enough close rounds on all three cards. The wider the margins, the more dominant the performance looked to the judges.</p> <p>Canelo Álvarez's win over Caleb Plant in their undisputed super middleweight fight? That ended by stoppage. But when Canelo outpointed Gennadiy Golovkin in their trilogy bout, all three judges had him ahead. That's a UD.</p> <h2>Split Decision (SD)</h2> <p>Two judges scored it for one fighter. The third scored it for the opponent. Majority rules, so the boxer with two cards wins, but the disagreement tells you it was close.</p> <p>Split decisions tend to spark arguments. Fans of the losing fighter wave around that dissenting scorecard as proof their guy got robbed. Sometimes they're right. Often, though, a split decision just means reasonable people watching the same twelve rounds saw them differently.</p> <p>Tyson Fury's first fight with Deontay Wilder ended in a split draw, with one judge favouring Fury, one favouring Wilder, and one calling it even. That's not quite a split decision (since there was no winner), but it shows how three people can watch the same fight and reach completely different conclusions.</p> <h2>Majority Decision (MD)</h2> <p>Two judges scored it for one fighter. The third judge called it a draw. The boxer with two winning cards gets the victory, but it's even tighter than a split because one judge genuinely couldn't separate them.</p> <p>Majority decisions don't happen often. They suggest a fighter did enough to win but couldn't convince everyone there was clear daylight between them and their opponent.</p> <p>Think of it this way: in a split decision, the third judge thought the other fighter won. In a majority decision, the third judge thought nobody won. Both count as victories, but the MD is the closer call.</p> <h2>Technical Decision (TD)</h2> <p>This one's different. A technical decision happens when an accidental foul stops the fight early and enough rounds have been completed to go to the scorecards. Usually that foul is a clash of heads opening a bad cut.</p> <p>Most commissions need the fight to pass the halfway mark before they'll render a technical decision. Stop it too early and you get a technical draw or no contest instead.</p> <p>TDs are rare and often messy. The fouled fighter might have been cruising when the stoppage came, or they might have been behind and caught a lucky break. Either way, the cards at the moment of stoppage decide everything. Evander Holyfield vs Riddick Bowe III ended this way after Bowe was deducted points and the fight was stopped in the eighth.</p> <h2>What about draws?</h2> <p>Draws follow the same logic. A unanimous draw means all three judges scored it even. A majority draw means two judges had it even while one picked a winner. A split draw means one judge went for Fighter A, one for Fighter B, and one called it level.</p> <p>Technical draws happen when an accidental foul ends things before enough rounds are in the books for the scorecards to count. Nobody wins, nobody loses. The fight essentially gets erased.</p> <h2>How decisions affect your bets</h2> <p>Standard "by decision" markets treat UD, SD, and MD the same. Back a fighter to win on points and any of those results pays out. The type of decision only matters if you're betting specific method markets that separate them. Our <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/punter-iq/guide/how-to-bet-on-boxing">guide to betting on boxing</a> covers these markets in more detail.</p> <p>Some bookmakers offer "exact method" lines for big fights where you can bet something like "Fighter A by Split Decision." The odds are longer because you're not just picking the winner and the method, you're predicting whether the judges will agree.</p> <p>Draws usually void "fighter to win" bets unless the market explicitly treats a draw as a loss. Always check the settlement rules. Handling varies between bookmakers, and getting caught out by the small print is a painful way to learn. For the latest <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/boxing/predictions">boxing tips and predictions</a>, check what our experts are backing ahead of upcoming fights.</p> <h2>Keep Reading</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/boxing/news/fastest-knockouts-boxing-history">The fights that ended before they even started</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/boxing/news/why-boxers-hug-clinching-during-fights">The art of the clinch and why fighters do it</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/huddle/boxing/news/boxing-weight-classes-guide">From flyweight to heavyweight — every division explained</a></li> </ul>