F=MA Several very high speed and high resolution video cameras could collect all this information based on how glove, forearm, head, etc accelerate/rotate in real time.
You don’t need to process it all in real time. A blow by blow after round highlights real based on the most damaging blows could grow the sport by making it more interesting to watch lesser matches.
You could probably do it acoustically to some degree. A punch is going to violently displace some air proportionately to its impact.
Also, It might be undetectably negligible, but it would be an interesting experiment to see if a sufficiently sensitive thermal camera would be able to gather information on how much the air is getting compressed in advance of a punch.
You bring up a good point, it definitely a difficult environment. However there’s a lot of techniques for isolating sounds in a noisy environment.
Getting clean audio from performers at concerts is only moderately challenging these days, with plenty of great examples to point to. So I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the idea.
It's not only about power but about unbalancing the opponent in order to obtain a knock-down. A weak hit making him fall is better than a massive blow (especially on hitting a strong body area).
The discussion was about scoring. In order to score the fight, you do need to process it in somewhat real time. I don't think waiting a few days to find out who won is going to be acceptable to fans
There's a lot more to it than just measuring force. For an extreme example, imagine delivering the same punch (force, target, etc.) to Mike Tyson in his prime versus a 90 year old lady.
People who know how to absorbed and redirect a blow minimize how much their brain gets tossed about, but measuring peak acceleration of the skill is going to show how much someone’s brain got rattled. It’s a solid structure and your brain is inside
Also a you don’t see 90 year old grandmother’s in the ring. So it’s true someone with a larger head has an advantage here, but mechanical properties of tissues should be fairly similar between fighters and acceleration accounts for the mass of the head.
You don’t need to process it all in real time. A blow by blow after round highlights real based on the most damaging blows could grow the sport by making it more interesting to watch lesser matches.