I love Beterbiev but he lands illegal punches

[_Rexy_]

Why do we require trainers/fighters to bring it up? even if they did you'd only say it was excuses anyway so what is the point?

He does it in literally every fight so lets not act like it doesn't happen or its just one or two guys turning their back.
He sweeps his right hand purposely targeting behind the back of the head, point blank.

Hrgovic is another that does it continually.

Its about time referees clamped down on this **** before someone gets seriously hurt. Its them shots to the back of the head which do serious damage, we've seen it time and time again.

Hrgovic throws rabbit punches inside the clinch constantly. Artur throws looping combos that his opponents start to bend at the waist trying to avoid. Completely different.

[dan_cov]

Hrgovic throws rabbit punches inside the clinch constantly. Artur throws looping combos that his opponents start to bend at the waist trying to avoid. Completely different.

To me the method shouldn't matter its illegal and highly dangerous regardless of the trajectory or circumstances.

A low blow is a low blow, a punch to the back of the head is a punch to the back of the head, anyway you want to slice it.

[dan_cov]

It happens every fight are we going to blame each individual fighter for bending at the waist and just ignore the common denominator in all of it?

A lot of the time they are not even bending at the waist, they are stood straight up and he is arching his right hand behind their guard and heads. Other times he will get head control and literally turn the opponent and fire shots at the back of their heads as they are off balance.

Happened vs Gvodyk, Joe Smith, Yarde, Callum, Johnson, Page and countless others

[Superbee]

Again... I haven't heard or read anything to that matter from the Smith team... One would jump on it as an excuse, right ? Maybe we'll hear or read from them today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or next decade... Who knows ? ...

[_Rexy_]

To me the method shouldn't matter its illegal and highly dangerous regardless of the trajectory or circumstances.

A low blow is a low blow, a punch to the back of the head is a punch to the back of the head, anyway you want to slice it.

Except one isn't called because it's the opponent causing it. This is why you're taught in the amateurs not to bend at the waist, because you'll open yourself up to punches in the back of the head and they will be legal. Having been in the ring, I'm not going to stop punching when someone puts himself in a vulnerable position.

Low blows will not be called if you're pushing your opponent down, forcing his punches low. We've seen the fighter hit low warned for doing that many times.

Hell, I thought these were illegal but the ref said that Fa put turned his head.

[MulaKO]

How does he reach up to a 6'3 guy and keep punching behind his head with those short arms? seems like when guys bend down and a combination of how he loops his hooks. it's like people crying about ward's low blows when kovalev went in fetal position. Ward was just supposed to stand back, let him straighten up and recover.

Funny cause I was thinking the same thing yesterday
Ffs , Smith is 6’3 , how can he possibly loop his punches
The obvious is , your opponent drops and gets hit , unfortunately it lands where it does
But you can’t explain that to haters cause , well you know

[HeadShots]

Hrgovic throws rabbit punches inside the clinch constantly. Artur throws looping combos that his opponents start to bend at the waist trying to avoid. Completely different.

rabbit punches don’t KO people.


it’s the fully wound punch purposely looped to the back of the head that do. Full force to back of the head


callum smith was not moving his head at all. Watch the replays

[MulaKO]

Again... I haven't heard or read anything to that matter from the Smith team... One would jump on it as an excuse, right ? Maybe we'll hear or read from them today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or next decade... Who knows ? ...

You gotta be a hater to actually try to justify how a shorter man can loop a punch
The obvious is the taller man must have dipped for the shorter man to hit him in the back of the head
Fugh that though , if the opponent isn’t complaining about it because obviously they know they dipped or bent over doesn’t become it become quite obvious why posters here are complaining
Agendas , agendas , agendas

[MulaKO]

I’ve noticed that too, and I’ve tried to watch his punches in slow motion and this is what I’ve taken from it.

He throws these weird fishhook-trajectory clubbing hooks that seem to land on the back, side, and corners of his opponents skulls.

They look dirty, but it also sometimes seems like the opponent ducks and dips towards him and the trajectory of the punch means it lands there to the back of the skull instead of the temple.

In his favor (I am really stretching at this), his high-octane output may cause his opponents to try to move in toward him to take some of the steam off his attack (like Fury did against Wilder in their third fight), but as Beterbiev’s power punches are short to mid-range, it can have more disastrous consequences.

I like Beterbiev, or maybe I should say I want to like him, but I understand what OP is saying, and I must admit that his knockout wins aren’t pretty, and they don’t look clean.

Not entirely sure what to make of it.

Put a gun to my head though, and I’d probably say he knows what he’s doing and is targeting the backs of his opponents heads to do more damage. I’m guessing he masks it well enough to get away with it. Most (not all) of the stuff he pulls looks on the fence to me — not as bad as Wilder in the 12th round against Parker, but definitely not squeaky clean, either.

Smith 6’3 tall and lanky
Beterbiev 5’11 , much shorter with short arms
But he loops his punches
Please explain
The only way is if his opponent comes down to him ; bends over etc etc

[N/A]

Hrgovic throws rabbit punches inside the clinch constantly. Artur throws looping combos that his opponents start to bend at the waist trying to avoid. Completely different.

Hrgovic lands clean rabbit punches, it is embarrassing how incapable this man turned out to be, yet so much hype around him.

Artur lands some shots on the back of the head. True, it's mostly when in exchange, so I believe most were not intentional, also seeing him how he does, but he must be warned about. Not that Smith would have survived if those were not landed.

rabbit punches don’t KO people.


it’s the fully wound punch purposely looped to the back of the head that do. Full force to back of the head


callum smith was not moving his head at all. Watch the replays

Rabbit punches don't usually KO athletes in sports, true - they lay the carpet for the KO. If you KO someone with a punch on the back of the head, which is quite doable, the possibility of damaging him is serious.