Can you explain referees changing boxing rules at the start of a fight?

[The Hammer]

lets talk about the entire 8th round, give me your opinion on the right hand ward landed

The best punch Ward landed in the two fights, but still didn't knock Ward down!

Kov knocked Ward down with a BETTER punch in the first fight.

also show me any low blows outside of that one

Did you watch the fight? Don't have the gifs yet, but there were at least 5 OBVIOUS low blows.

why was kov so tired

They were both tired.

Look, uppercut510, you were rooting for Ward and because he's 1/2 black, in your mind NO MATTER WHAT ILLEGAL TACTICS HE USES, Ward deserves everything and he wins.

No sense discussing anything with you, you see everything in black and white.

[BrometheusBob.]

Weeks clearly indicated that belt line was OK, anything below was not. It is not uncommon for referees to assess how high the trunks are and to comment on whether beltline shots are acceptable.

What I find strange is how they didn't interview Weeks after the fight to get his take on the stoppage like they usually do after a ref is involved in a contraversial stoppage.

Yeah I am disappointed by that too

[Suavecito80]

he hit the man in the damn stomach.

On top of that he was holding Ward's head down when he punched him. It is funny that Ward didn't know what to do when Kov went into his "assball defence" dude was like wtf ref??

[uppercut510]

The best punch Ward landed in the two fights, but still didn't knock Ward down!

Kov knocked Ward down with a BETTER punch in the first fight.
Did you watch the fight? Don't have the gifs yet, but there were at least 5 OBVIOUS low blows.
They were both tired.

Look, uppercut510, you were rooting for Ward and because he's 1/2 black, in your mind NO MATTER WHAT ILLEGAL TACTICS HE USES, Ward deserves everything and he wins.

No sense discussing anything with you, you see everything in black and white.

lmaoooo man this race stuff is a terrible cop out and tacky at best, but ull have to deal with that on your own time, not my issue... weeks clearly stated the waste line was legal... kov had his trunks pulled up high as well. he flat out LOST and gave up, i had kov winning the first fight or a draw. u will be okay my friend

[Code Red]

Before this weekend, I have never, not once, seen a referee change the rules of the sport based on his own personal opinion.

Tony Weeks states that Kovalev's belt line is low but he is willing to accept punches that go in low...how is that possible? How can a state sanctioned referee, in a world title fight, change the rules on the fly?

And when has it happened before?

Yeah, cause Tony Weeks knew Kovalev would be folding over and crying like a ***** all night!

[Fists_of_Fury]

Looks like back acne on that one picture....

[The Big Dunn]

Did your parents think you were a girl when you were a baby? I'm guessing playing with dolls and easy bake ovens made your estrogen levels skyrocket. Switch to a smaller ***** before you log back on.

[soul_survivor]

All refs indicate if trunks are too high or low and say where is low and where it's good, this is very common. You're noticing it now when Weeks did it, why? That's a mystery coming from people who have watched boxing for years.

Unless English is your 4th language you know that's not what I have said.

The rules of boxing state a punch below the navel ( do you know what that is?) is illegal, I.e. A low blow .

Now, weeks pointed to Kovalev's belt line, stated it was low but he would accept it. A referee does not make his own rules on a per fight basis so how did the nsac, and the various belt orgs allow that to happen?

[HarvardBlue]

I'm sure all these threads on the rules of boxing will cause NSAC to overturn the outcome of the fight and award the victory to Kovalev. Because he really deserves it. He suffered so much abuse from a man that hits like a girl.