Should they deduct points for running/not engaging?

[T.Horton]

wow ok each to his own i guess



umm you know he didn't actually win right lol

on the cards maybe.

[Tamis!]

There's a reason why they made the ring at 20x20.

If they don't want "running" per se, they should have all boxers fight inside a telephone booth.

[gatagata]

They cant all be ****ers. I personally like to watch fighters who use the ring alot and move around. Now if you ain't throwing no shots thats different but just moving around the ring is OK. I would much rather watch Dirrell fight than Ward and his contant hugging and tying up.

[davidoff]

You need to distinguish between tactically evading your opponent and simply not engaging.

Seeing as Dirrell has been mentioned, he falls into the former. He landed so much against Abraham you can't even consider docking points.

And I wouldn't have docked points from him in the Froch fight. Froch keeps his right low. Dirrell evaded and waited for Froch to throw is left wide or loose and then countered hard and fast. There's nothing wrong with that at all. The alternative is to stand and trade and get KO'd.

Points should be deducted if you just evade. But this happens very rarely. Most boxers who are labelled "runners" on this forum are labelled that in error by people who have followed the sport for five minutes.

[Michael Hall]

No skill guys like Brandon Rios and Antonio Margarito don't do it for me. I prefer watching a higher skill level.

[Deevel916]

If its excessive then YES. Running, holding, avoiding to engage, etc is what turns casual fans off about the sport.

Lets take JMM for example. He's one of the most technical boxers in the game, yet he's exciting. He doesnt run or avoid engaging. He's right there in front of you slipping punches and countering. If the sport were filled with technical boxers such as Cory Spinks, the Klit bros, and Mayweather, viewership would be extremely low to the point where HBO would just drop it from thier budget.

[REMOVED SHARK 97]

Only if you're facing Baldomir.

[squealpiggy]

Seeing as Dirrell has been mentioned, he falls into the former. He landed so much against Abraham you can't even consider docking points.

And I wouldn't have docked points from him in the Froch fight. Froch keeps his right low. Dirrell evaded and waited for Froch to throw is left wide or loose and then countered hard and fast. There's nothing wrong with that at all.

This is what really grinds my gears against Dirrell - I don't consider it running or avoiding engaging when he fights off the backfoot. Dirrell versus Froch and Abraham was very different to, say, Hopkins running for his life away from the mighty Howard "Gunner" Eastman. And if Dirrell kept his game to using the ring and countering I would have no issue and he might even become one of my current favourites. My issue with Dirrell is that when an opponent actually does manage to cut off the ring and get close enough to land he does the following:

1. Grab hold
2. Fall on the floor

in that order. Every time. Now I see no need for the referee to deduct points for that. It's simple, the first time he "slips" it could be a slip. After he's done it three or four times and always in the same circumstance the ref simply starts counting. He's very obviously doing the same thing as a fighter taking a knee, he's just being devious about it.

[TaurusJ27]

If a fighter ran around the ring for the entire fight without engaging the fighter . I could see the purse being withheld similar to the haye-harrison fight .

[BoxingTech718]

No, Fighters should know how to cut off the ring. The ref is not there to score the fight but to make sure that the fight stays clean.