This is a carry-over from Fight Night 2. I always tell myself once I get past a certain part in the game, normally after I win a bunch of tough fights and have a bit of a reputation, that I'll fight a controlled fight and try to win the rounds without a knockdown. It never works though...I can't control myself. I always go in looking for the knockout. I've tried the strategic way a number of times and seem to lose rounds that I always feel should have been a lock for me. I would hope that only clean blows count in the total and not blows to the arms that are blocked. I'll keep trying it and I guess the good thing is you can't really practice in the career mode as the results count!!! Still a great game though. The thumb issue is real, especially the way I go in and try to get the knockdown right away. It gets the adrenaline running and I'm usually so focused that I hear nothing during a fight. Which translates to the wife sometimes getting pissed that I don't "hear" her, hahahahaha