Bending below the waist

[Ray*]

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.

[New England]

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.

[CubanGuyNYC]

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.

[DoktorSleepless]

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?

[KingTito]

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

[-MARKAVELLI-]

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!

[Brockton Lip]

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.

[New England]

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.

[DoktorSleepless]

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.

[In Motion]

Punk ass mods deleted my thread...