Boxing stuff

Okay, so after some surprising requests, I have decided to include a bit of boxing here, as it takes up a significant part of my attentions these days. I have devised a rating system for boxers that assigns each fighter points based exclusively on their wins, losses, and draws. It factors in the rating of their opponent at the time of the fight, but it does not factor in anything else (like the way victory was achieved, just because one guy is a knockout artist, that doesn’t mean he is inherently better than a defensive wizard, and being able to squeak out close decisions may be just as valuable as being able to win most every round). Every boxer starts his career with 500 points, an arbitrary number. The most points a fighter can get in a single fight is 50, the most that could be taken away is 50. If a fighter with 500 points fights a fighter with 500 points, the theory is that they should draw. So, a Draw would not affect either fighter’s points. If a 500 fighter fights a fighter with 800 points, the 800 fighter should win, so a victory for him would receive fewer points than a victory by the 500 fighter would receive. A win over a fighter with the same rating as you garners 25 points and an equivalent loss loses 25 points. A win by a fighter with 1000 or so points over a fighter with about 500 points gives the 1000 fighter about 8 points and takes away about 8 from the 500 guy. Enough about that. It should be noted that these ratings are not indicative of a fighter’s skill, but are instead a recording of a fighter’s achievements. As such, these ratings should not be thought of as predictive, rather, they can be used to note significance of bouts. Also, these ratings are less accurate for older fighters and for fighters about whom not a lot is known. I now direct your attention to the sidebar that includes the top 5 in each weight class, and the top 10 pound for pound, both current ratings, and all time ratings. The current ratings list fighters points now, the all-time ratings list the highest point total the fighter had during his career. I intend to update these monthly, perhaps with an analysis of changes or a note about important upcoming fights. Finally I have also included the number of fighters whose complete known record I have entered into my spreadsheet and that I make sure is current each month.