Should holding be enforced more rigorously/severely?

[Cheek busting]

Holding is against the rules, yet sometimes fighters aren't even given warnings for it - they're simply continuously separated... Time, after time, after time......... AFTER TIME, after time......... after time, after time, and AFTER TIME again...

A lot of times fighters are given verbal warnings for it, and despite continuously holding throughout the remainder of the fight, are never penalized for it?

I'm sure fighters have been penalized for it, but I can't recall any fights wherein off the top of my dome.

I remember posters on here counting boxers holding over 100 times in a fight! With no point deductions!!!

Should holding just be largely overlooked, and be considered part and parcel of professional boxing? OR, should it start to be just as rigorously enforced as head butts, and low blows? I mean, obviously the former isn't as physically harmful, nor debilitating as the latter; HOWEVE, it CAN inhibit a boxer from executing his game plan, and ultimately winning the fight. Indeed, constant holding can prevent a boxer from winning more so than a few low blows...







Thoughts and reflections? What do y'all, my most excellent of colleagues, think regarding this issue???

[Zaryu]

I think more fighters should be penalized for holding, it gets pretty ridiculous and I truly believe it changes fights.

[Archie_Leach]

I think more fighters should be penalized for holding, it gets pretty ridiculous and I truly believe it changes fights.

agree 100%

its one the reasons boxing is considered a joke by people.
(a boring joke)

[BLASTER1]

I think its part and parcel with fighting aslong as thats not their only way to win.
When i see holding i also see a contest in strength.
If its used everytime a punch is thrown then it should be considered for a point deduction.

[Archie_Leach]

I think its part and parcel with fighting aslong as thats not their only way to win.
When i see holding i also see a contest in strength.
If its used everytime a punch is thrown then it should be considered for a point deduction.

lol wut???????????

[boliodogs]

I think the no holding rule should be enforced a lot more. The rule against holding and hitting should also be enforced a lot more. Ward used to grab his opponent and pound away every chance he got. He threw more grabs than jabs.

[Archie_Leach]

I think the no holding rule should be enforced a lot more. The rule against holding and hitting should also be enforced a lot more. Ward used to grab his opponent and pound away every chance he got. He threw more grabs than jabs.

but if a foreign/b-side fighter clinches even once he gets points deducted in round 1...

****in yanks lol......

[Tony Trick-Pony]

It's been abused for a long, long time. A lot of guys seem lost when it comes to fighting on the inside. I don't know if this just isn't taught in gyms anymore or what, it's non-existent in most modern boxing.

As far as penalizing, I'd say it definitely needs to be enforced a lot more. I'd also recommend these refs to start saying, "Punch and get out." That would cause a drop for sure. Most refs just jump right in and save these guys from giving us proof that they can't fight on the inside at all.

[Cheek busting]

I think more fighters should be penalized for holding, it gets pretty ridiculous and I truly believe it changes fights.

Absolutely - some boxer's entire game plan/styles are based around the fact that they can hold with no worries.

It can absolutely effect the outcome of a fight as well.

[Cheek busting]

I think its part and parcel with fighting aslong as thats not their only way to win.
When i see holding i also see a contest in strength.
If its used everytime a punch is thrown then it should be considered for a point deduction.

I can see rolling with this. After all, we want to see a "fight," and forget that boxing isn't the same as fighting.

Still, I think it should be pretty straightforward - with the refs having a little discretion, obviously. First few time - separation; second time - strong verbal warning; third time - point; fourth time - another point; fifth time - DQ. Again, some discretion; for example, maybe if both fighters are initiating because they're both exhausted (which happens a lot), then just immediately separate.

Too often fighters just literally incorporate holding into their styles. It may not be the only way they win, and hell, most of the time they'd probably win regardless. But a lot of times, repeated, intentional, blatant holding, has greatly inhibited fighters, or helped, aided, and even saved them.

We always hear announcers saying "he needs to hold"! when a fighter gets badly stunned. they say this because THEY KNOW the boxer will not get penalized for repeatedly holding until he has regained his senses. They have accepted that it's perfectly fine, for a boxer to save himself by smothering the other dude when he's hurt, and both buying him time to recover, AND inhibiting his opponent from getting off punches to potentially end the fight. Of course, this type of "spur the moment/situational" holding is more reactionary, and not a proactive, planned measure/strategy.

We got some badass fighters who, when stunned, simply plant their feet, tuck their chins, and go to war - for better or worse. Some of the greatest exchanges, and tide-changing, epic moments in boxing have occurred because a stunned boxer either doesn't know how, or refuses to hold when hurt.