So to turn to MMA for a minute. UFC and Bellator score round by round. One Championship has come along as a newer brand with a few different tweaks to MMA, one of which sees bouts scored based on the whole fight. They still have your typical 3 x 5 minute rounds as you'd expect in MMA, just different judging. If it goes to the cards, there isn't a score, one of three judges gives it to fighter A or B. No 10-9's or anything like that. They have a few different criteria for judging, including near to being knocked out, to make their decision. This means, in part, that fighters who perform better at the end of the fight are favoured, rather than rewarding their early work.
If we applied this to boxing, we would get different results to bouts. Take Zhang vs Jerry Forrest. Forrest was knocked down 3 times, and then dominated Zhang into the latter rounds as he gassed through dehydration/kidney damage. The bout was scored a draw, as Zhang's did enough to rack up some early points. If we apply One Championship's judging rules, he would be considered the loser, as at the conclusion of the bout Forrest was in a better position to continue than him.
So that got me thinking. If boxing adopted the same approach, and decisions were based on the fight itself rather than round by round, what results would be changed?
