After years of playing and coaching boxing, now you want to have an upgrading step in the field by becoming a judge. By having the title “Judge” and later “Referee,” you will get higher pay and better appreciation from people in the community.
However, guidance on becoming a boxing judge is still ambiguous and vague, making you confused on the process of how to become a boxing judge. Don’t worry, let us help you out.
In this post, let’s dive deep into the procedure of licensing a boxing judge as well as its career and finance potential.
Contents
How to Become a Boxing Judge?
Pre-Training Preparation
Just like any other job in the world, there is a requirement list that you must fulfill to be qualified to do something. It’s the same case here. There are requirements for approving your boxing judge applications that you must consider before applying.
First, you must contact the State Athletic Commission at your local to request consulting on becoming a state-certified professional boxing judge. There are slight differences between states, so it’s better to contact your local authority.
Second, it’s time to check your requirements. There may be a training course that you must attend to get a license at the end. However, besides that course, you also have to qualify the criminal history, age, and medical requirements from the organization.
In some states, one must be over 18 years old to apply for the job. Besides, they are also required to be physically capable of performing as a judge. Remember that this is a job in the combat sports field, so there will be intense work, pressure, damp working conditions, violence, and conflict. It would be best if you had super great health to tolerate these factors.
Boxing Judge Approved Training
Now that you have fulfilled all requirements above, please take the boxing judge approved training course and have the test at the end of the program. In just a few states, this course is unnecessary, so if our state doesn’t have that requirement, congratulations, you only need to take the qualification exam.
What can you learn in the training course then? During the course, you will learn detailedly about boxing rules, problem-solving skills, and how to give brief but precise decisions in real matches.
After completing that theory class, you have to attend many real matches to guest-lecture how professional judges work, and finally, do shadow judges yourself. This is your opportunity to face real competitions and apply the lesson you have learned. Your instructor will strictly supervise you during these days, and your performance can influence the final examination result.
Licensing
Supposedly, if you have passed both the theory test and shadow judges, then congratulations, you have passed the qualification examination for judges. From then, you officially become a professional boxing judge. The committee will provide you a license with the “professional boxing judge” title, and you can use that certificate to apply for jobs with decent pay.
However, there are costs to pay to get the final license. First, you have to pay about $115 for background screening. Remember that paying for a medical check is a must. The third fee to give away is the training course’s tuition fee.
In New York, it takes $125 for a training course. Finally, when you have passed the theory tests and shadow judges, it’s a must to submit a $50 processing fee along with an application form and relevant documents to be considered for licensing.
Post-training Career Opportunities
Become A Judge
After getting boxing judge training and getting a license, you can now work as a judge officially and legally. You can apply to any boxing center or sports organization, or agency specializing in holding boxing events.
Besides, you can also work as a freelancer judge. This is a path that many people choose. There are not that many competitions for you to judge, so if you choose the full-time path, sometimes you will likely be out of work. It’s a sad fact, but you have to be realistic about it.
So, many people choose to be a judge part-time. For instance, their main job may be a boxing coach full-time, but they will register their name in a sports holding agency to call them to work as judges whenever there is a need for a boxing judge.
Become A Referee
After working as a judge for 12 months and having at least 50 bouts as a judge, you will be eligible enough to take a Grade C Referee written exam. Passing the test, you will be asked to work as a referee for five bouts so that the examiners can see your ability.
So, how is the written test conducted? You will take the written exam to test your knowledge and problem-solving experience in boxing battles. The papers will later be marked by the Regional Assessors whose title is Grade A or above.
If you have passed the test and five bouts demo, you are now certified as a boxing referee. The committee will issue a certificate for you to work as a referee legally in the future.
How Much Money Can You Make as a Boxing Judge?
There is a gap between judging fees for professional, entry-level, and woman boxing referees. To be specific, the experienced boxing referee will get paid from $10000 to $25000 for the main card fight. For each match, they earn $3000 – $5000 fees.
The price is lower for inexperienced boxing referees. Typically, a new judge will earn about $12000 per year. For each match, they can earn only a $500 judging fee.
For women boxing referees, the situation is even worse. They only get paid for about $35000 per year no matter their experience. The fee per match is about $800 to $1500, which is quite low compared to experienced boxing referees’ rate.
However, if the referee is chosen for high profile promoters, then the rate can rise dramatically. For famous boxers such as Mayweather and Pacquiao, they will only choose referees with many experience and good reputation in the field to judge. If one judge is chosen, their rate per match is about $10000, double the maximum fee compared to the “normal” judge.
As a result, if a referee or judge wants to increase their pay rate, they have to gain a reputation and experience in the field so that they can be promoted to high-profile performers and get extremely high pay from them.
>Read more: What does a boxing manager do?
Wrapping It Up
We have learned how to become a boxing judge through this article. Does it satisfy your curiosity? Can you learn any resourceful insight from our post?
In the boxing community, it takes time and effort to move from a player to a judge and later a referee. However, it’s worth it because these jobs get more authority, money, and influence in the field than anyone else.
For anyone who reads this post, I hope that you can become a successful boxing judge in the future as you dream of. Happy training!
With a passion for combat sports and a wealth of experience, Mike Colon stands as a seasoned figure in the world of martial arts, hailing from the vibrant city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Mike has honed the skills of numerous fighters, guiding them through the intricacies of the sweet science of Boxing and the multifaceted challenges of MMA.
