Thursday, January 10, 2013

The 2013 Boxinghead Battle


The Boxinghead Battle returns for 2013. The Battle is a weekly league where boxing experts and fans compete to see who is the best at making fight predictions. Only large mainstream fights that have international significance are included for the Battle. (Dan Rafael of ESPN won the 2012 Battle. The final standings from last year's edition can be found here.)  

The scoring for the 2013 Boxinghead Battle remains the same from last year and is as follows: For each fight, if a participant predicts the right winner, one point (+1) is received. If an incorrect prediction is made, one point (-1) is taken away. If a participant correctly predicts a draw, five points (+5) are received but only one point (-1) is taken away if a draw is not accurately predicted. If a participant correctly predicts a "no-contest" where the fight is stopped early because of an accidental head butt or unintentional foul (in some jurisdictions, this decision may be officially rendered as a "technical draw"), the participant receives ten points (+10). No points will be taken away in this scenario.

There are two ways to play the Boxinghead Battle. For experts from some of the largest boxing outlets, I will record their predictions for Battle fights that have been published on their affiliated websites or made on their official Twitter accounts.

For others, every week, via my Twitter handle (@snboxing), I will indicate which fights will be included for the Battle. (There may be some weeks that don't have any Boxinghead Battle fights.) The first round of the Battle (a round is essentially a weekend) will be Jan. 19 where the two fights included will be Salido-Garcia and Golovkin-Rosado. For this round and subsequent rounds of the Battle, tweet me your picks and they will be recorded. I will only accept picks starting the Monday before a Friday or Saturday fight. I only require the winning fighter. No need to include the type of victory. If picking a draw, list the two fighters and a draw (for example, Mayweather-Pacquiao, draw). If there are any mid-week fights as part of the Battle, I will alert via Twitter when predictions will be accepted.  

For 2013, the Boxinghead Battle will be split into two halves. January through June will be the first half of the year and July through November will constitute the second half. After each half of the season is completed, the top eight participants (including the potential for more with ties) will be eligible for the playoffs. Additional participants will not be selected to replace players that have qualified for the playoffs through both halves of the season. For instance, if a participant finishes first in the first half and fourth in the second half, the ninth-place finisher in the second half will not qualify for the playoffs absent of a tie.

The first four rounds of the Battle will consist of a season's "open enrollment," i.e. the period needed to officially qualify for the half of the season. A participant must submit (or for experts, post) a prediction within one of the first four rounds to qualify for the half of the season. In addition, once qualified, a participant who fails to submit (or post) a prediction for four consecutive rounds will be removed due to inactivity. A player that is removed from the first half of the season can still participate in the second half. Similarly, a participant need not play in the first half of the season to be eligible for the second half. A participant who qualifies for the playoffs via the first half of the season and doesn't play in the second half of the season (or has been removed due to inactivity) is still eligible for the playoffs.

The playoffs will end after the last round of the Boxinghead Battle has been completed for December of 2013. If there is an outright winner after December, the 2013 Boxinghead Battle winner will be crowned. If there is a tie for the top score at this point, those participants who finished with the highest playoff score will continue through 2014 until a winner is selected. If there is a tie at the end of December, a player may not subsequently win the Battle by default or inactivity. I will contact the tied participants directly to ensure that predictions are made in this scenario. If a participant fails to make a prediction for a round of the Battle in this tied situation, the participant loses a point (-1) for each fight of the round. Once there is a leader in this tied scenario, a winner is crowned.

With that, best of luck in the 2013 Boxinghead Battle. If you have any questions, contact me via Twitter (@snboxing) or email. I will provide weekly updates via Twitter regarding the leaders and trailers of the Battle. In addition, I will periodically publish the full standings on Saturday Night Boxing. Now let's have some fun and see who's the best Boxinghead out there.

Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
@snboxing on twitter
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