Bending below the waist

Mike Tyson used to bend well below the opponent's waist for defense as well. It was never called by refs NOR shunned upon. Different strokes for different folks.

If these rules were applied to the Pacman vs Floyd fight. Floyd would of lost by a wide margin. nope. Floyd would've been disqualified.

Can you provide a link to the rules your referring to? I go by the Unified Rules of the NSAC and here is a list of the infractions: NAC 467.675 Acts constituting fouls in boxing. (NRS 467.030) The following acts constitute fouls in boxing: 1. Hitting below the belt. 2. Hitting an opponent who is down or is getting up after being down. 3. Holding an opponent with one hand and hitting with the other. 4. Holding or deliberately maintaining a clinch. 5. Wrestling or kicking. 6. If the referee has signaled that the opponent has been knocked out, striking an opponent who is helpless as a result of previous blows and so supported by the ropes that he or she does not fall. 7. Butting with the head or shoulder or using the knee. 8. Hitting with the open glove, the butt of the hand, the wrist or the elbow, and all backhand blows. 9. Purposely going down without being hit. 10. Striking deliberately at that part of the body over the kidneys. 11. Deliberately using the rabbit punch. 12. Jabbing the opponent’s eyes with the thumb of the glove. 13. Using abusive language in the ring. 14. Engaging in any unsportsmanlike trick or action which causes injury to an opponent. 15. Hitting on the break. 16. Hitting after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat. 17. Hitting an opponent whose head is between and outside of the ropes. 18. Pushing an opponent about the ring or into the ropes. If these rules were applied to the Pacman vs Floyd fight. Floyd would of lost by a wide margin.

Punk ass mods deleted my thread... :lol1: it was illegal but not called consistently as it was a defensive foul.. offensive foul OTOH like butting were always being called..

Here's the thoughts of a Cuban referee with two decades of experience both in the ring as a ref for dozens of world championship fights, and outside as a referee seminar instructor for the WBA, WBO, and Association of Boxing Commissions. http://www.secondsout.com/ringside/behind-the-scenes/the-professional-boxing-referee-the-powers-of-the-referee-and-dealing-with-gray-areas Some Commissions' rules don't clearly prohibit a boxer from turning their back to an opponent or ducking their head in an unsafe manner. Should these practices be allowed? No. Why not? It could lead to a foul or injury and simply put, that is not boxing.

it's generally not considered a foul if you don't stay there. rigondeaux weaves. his defense goes far beyond sticking his head in the sand like an ostrich.

Correct, bending below the belt line and clinching are both against the rules. I've seen it done a lot these past few years and it's interesting that its never called out.

Ok. It's not like Rigo didn't kick his ass the rest of the time. Rigo learn the bend over style from Emmanuel Lucero, too bad Lucero fought the Pacman!

Ok. It's not like Rigo didn't kick his ass the rest of the time.

I actually got a response from Keith Kizer to the email I sent regarding bending below the waist and turning your back. Yes, these things are under the referee's discretion, and he can call a boxer for unsportsmanlike behavior depending on the behavior. Thanks for your email. Keith Kizer Executive Director Nevada Athletic Commission EDIT: This is what I asked specificially. Looking through the rules ( http://www.leg.state.nv.us/nac/NAC-467.html ), there's two things I'm surprised are missing. I don't see anything about turning your back against the opponent and I don't see anything about ducking/bending below your opponent's waistline. Turning your back against your opponents causes a halt in the action because punches have nowhere to land but on the back or on the back of the head. The same thing is true when someone puts their head below an opponents waist because punches have nowhere to land but on the back or on the back of the head. The fighter's who do this put themselves in danger of getting hit in dangerous areas while the opponent is in danger of getting points taken off due to accidental fouls. Are these things solely under the ref's discretion? Do they fall under unsportsmanlike behavior? Or are they actually allowed?

I believe it is, atleast in the amateurs that is... ...I originally saw the rules in the boxrec website. I thought it was universal. I guess it varies from commission to commission and from sanctioning body to sanctioning body... It is illegal in the amateurs. I also always took it for granted that it was a universal rule of boxing. Frankly, I never knew that different commissions had slightly different rules. damn Rigo made donaire look like a fool there, beautiful Yes he did. Illegal or not, there aren't too many boxers that can make a world-class fighter miss repeatedly like that. I'd love to see someone else do that to Donaire. Yes it's against the rules, but I don't understand your comment about "clinching". Clinching is perfectly legal and an expert boxer cannot be really "expert" unless he knows how to do it.. There's a big difference between "clinching" and "holding"... Agreed. Clinching is part of the game. Maintaining the clinch after the referee commands you to break would be illegal. Throw an uppercut. That's what I say. They don't call lots of stuff though, really people want to see the fight dirty tricks or not rather than a ref stopping a fight over something that seems trivial. They are screwed either way really, either they call it to the letter of the law and some fights get ruined or they don't call it to the letter of the law and some fights get ruined. This is a very practical point. There are rules then there are rules. Kicking your opponent in the balls is a little different from bending at the waist. Some infractions shouldn't be tolerated for a moment and lead to an immediate DQ; others can be overlooked, unless they're consistently repeated.

it's unprofessional, but as long as the weaving fighter brings his head back up above the beltline immediately it's rarely called, and i'm cool with that. you can duck that low to avoid a punch, just don't stay there.

You know what? I see Mayweather do this all the time and I don't get how he doesn't get call out by the refs when that happens.

The key could be the in the word maintaining, it doesn't say clinching itself is illegal but maybe if a referee were to tell the fighters to stop clinching one was deliberately 'maintaining' the clinch even after being warned it could be an infraction. A lot of these sorts of rules can be open for interpretation depending on the referee New York doesn't say "maintaining" though clinching, holding or locking an opponent=s arms or head But there is always going to be clinching in boxing. I guess the ref just has to use judgement on whether or not its deliberate and whether its killing the flow of the fight.

I sent an email to NSAC asking them about this stuff, but I doubt I'll get a response. Worth a try I guess. According to the NSAC rules PBP linked, both clinching and holding are specified as being illegal. The key could be the in the word maintaining, it doesn't say clinching itself is illegal but maybe if a referee were to tell the fighters to stop clinching one was deliberately 'maintaining' the clinch even after being warned it could be an infraction. A lot of these sorts of rules can be open for interpretation depending on the referee

Something like this?

It's become accepted really, refs don't really call anyone on it. They don't call lots of stuff though, really people want to see the fight dirty tricks or not rather than a ref stopping a fight over something that seems trivial. They are screwed either way really, either they call it to the letter of the law and some fights get ruined or they don't call it to the letter of the law and some fights get ruined.

In the WBC Rules For Championchip fights for example. It's become accepted really, refs don't really call anyone on it.

Throw an uppercut. Just what I was thinking. If the opponent continues this move, why not get into a crouching position and fire some uppercuts?

Throw an uppercut.