Mar 01, 2012 – The pugilistic art of boxing is considered sports entertainment. While it differs from traditional sporting outlets due to it?s emphasis on hand-to-hand combat, it is still considered a professional sport nonetheless. These types of entertainment outlets have rules largely to ensure the sustained viewing pleasure for the public both live and on television.
The NBA (National Basketball Association) has a ?24 second shot clock rule? in order to ensure that a team does not merely hold onto the ball indefinitely once they are up on points. It also increases the pace, frequency of scoring and entertainment value of the overall sport.
American football employs a play clock of 40 seconds timed from the end of the previous down, or 25 seconds after the ball is declared ready for play after certain stoppages and/or game delays. This was also designed to increase the pace and the score of each game enhancing the entertainment value. Without this rule and time limit, a team could literally score just once and focus on stalling the rest of the game out by reading the entire Encyclopedia in the huddle to burn the game clock.
Over the past decade, mainstream sporting entities have consistently reviewed and revised their rulebook following each season. This was done in order to avoid the exploitation of them by coaches/players as well as looking to ensure a high level of quality control for the entertainment value for the fans. It is necessary to do so as it is the job of every coach and player to bend each rule to it?s limit in order to ensure an edge over the opposing player or team.
Boxing has largely stagnated in terms of rule changes and/or revisions over the past 20 years.
The biggest change within the sport probably took place in the late 1980?s as 15 round bouts were pretty much banished globally.
The Marques of Queensberry Rules were published in 1867 and have long been considered the standard rules with which boxing operates up until today. These rules super ceded the Revised London Prize Ring Rules of 1853 which super ceded the Original London Prize Ring Rules of 1743. Prior to the the Marques of Queensberry Rules being published… wrestling, bare-knuckle boxing, holding, wearing spiked shoes, and throwing your opponent were completely legal and considered part of the fighting sport.
While the Marques of Queensberry Rules were published in the latter half of the 1800?s, it would take decades for the sport to eventually morph and became more defensively sophisticated as well as offensively explosive compared to performances of it?s bare-knuckle past.
Here are the 12 rules that comprise the fundamental rules of boxing: To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable. No wrestling or hugging (clinching) allowed. The rounds to be of three minutes duration, and one minute’s time between rounds. If either man falls through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the 10 seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man. A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down. No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds. Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest; so that the match must be won and lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new. Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee’s satisfaction. A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes. That no shoes or boots with spikes or sprigs be allowed. [6] The contest in all other respects to be governed by revised London Prize Ring Rules.
Most of the rules are fairly self-explanatory… size of the ring, size of gloves, duration of the rounds, duration of time in between rounds, don?t hit a man when he?s down, and no seconds or any other person allowed in the ring during the fight other than the referee and fighters.
The one rule that stands out as not so clear in terms of enforcement is the second rule: No wrestling or hugging (clinching) allowed.
It?s been well discussed that while wrestling, hugging, and clinching are illegal, when a fighter is hurt or dazed, there is an opening to utilize this illegal tactic in a defensive manner to avoid sustaining further damage. It is at the discretion of the referee to decide how many times a hurt fighter can continue to clinch their opponent prior to warning and subsequently deducting a point for a violation of this rule.
Most boxing fans that have watched the sport for numerous years understand that while it is illegal to wrestle or clinch, it is considered acceptable when a fighter is hurt. It is not considered acceptable for a fighter to wrestle or clinch from the outset of a fight when they are not hurt due to it?s clear illegal nature.
However… the biggest and most important question is why wrestling, hugging, and clinching was specifically classified as illegal in the official rules of boxing?
Let me repeat… WHY was wrestling, hugging, and clinching banished from boxing?
Much like the 24-second shot clock rule in basketball and the 40-second game clock rule in American football, the banishment of wrestling, hugging, and clinching in boxing was made in order to attempt to ensure the entertainment of the viewing public. This rule change in boxing was made in the 1800?s as bare-knuckle fighting had taken place for hundreds of years prior but due to the rules employing a less than defined fighting style, many matches would be considered rather dull due to having a predominantly wrestling infusion at times.
After observing the state of American boxing closely over the past decade as a proponent of wanting to see the sport grow domestically and make itself more marketable, it appears as though one the biggest factors in this equation seems to be it?s consistent entertainment value. As a hardcore boxing fan it?s quite easy to watch a bout, follow the progression of each combatant?s career, and simply discuss the sport as it passes us by.
As a proponent of the sport, it has become increasingly difficult to market boxing as a regularly entertaining form of sports entertainment especially on HBO and Showtime. This is due to boxing continuing to fall within the confines of it?s biggest detractor?s argument… ?boxing sucks and is boring, it?s nothing more than two guys punching and hugging each other. Punch, punch, hug, punch, punch, hug over and over again.?
Boxing in this format is indeed boring and quickly dissipates ones attention span when watching a bout as it?s a pattern with no rhythm that was made illegal about 150 years ago for this very reason. Remember… the rule of no clinching or holding was created in order to alleviate the predominance of wrestling in the London Prize Ring Rules.
Premium network, Showtime would broadcast a light heavyweight bout between Gabriel Campillo (southpaw) and Tavoris Cloud (conventional) on February 18, 2012. It was a fight deemed dramatic and entertaining by nature as Campillo would battle back to overcome a two knockdown deficit in the first round. There was little to no clinching throughout the affair as Campillo would utilize consistent head movement, torso twisting, parrying, and circling footwork to avoid absorbing Cloud?s offensive onslaught. Tavoris would consistently press forward attempting to land straight right hands and thudding left hooks with varied success throughout the fight. While there was some controversy regarding the scoring of the bout, the sustained, rhythmic action apparently left fight fans very satisfied with the action.
One week later, HBO would broadcast a ten round welterweight bout between Devon Alexander (southpaw) and Marcos Maidana (conventional) on February 25, 2012. It was a highly anticipated bout amongst fight fans as Alexander was considered a fighter who was attempting to reestablish himself within the boxing world as one of the brightest American names in the business. Maidana was considered a strong-punching but crude tough man from Argentina who brought an exciting face-first action style to the fight world. It was a match that would once again pit a longer, finesse based left-hander against a tough, pressure based, hard-punching right hander.
Leading up to the bout, Maidana hadn?t been known as a holder/clincher as reviewing footage of his bouts with Victor Ortiz, Andreas Kotelnik, Amir Khan, Victor Cayo, and Demarcus Corley it was more than evident that it was his opponent?s who chose to hold the Argentian at times rather than fight with both hands free.
119 clinches and 10 rounds later, Devon Alexander would defeat Marcos Maidana.
It was a bout that could be described best as… punch, punch, hug, punch, punch, hug. It perfectly fit the mold of boxing?s biggest criticism.
Alexander-Maidana was a boxing match that had little to no resemblance of the Cloud-Campillo match-up of a week prior. The rhythm of the bouts, the sustained action throughout the fights, and most importantly the fan appreciation of the viewing experience couldn?t be more different.
Once again… this issue simply comes down to proper rule enforcement within U.S. boxing.
Steve Smoger is considered by some to be the best referee in the business and he failed to warn or rightfully deduct a point from Devon Alexander for his 119 clinches over the course of 10 rounds.
What?s even more disturbing is that HBO commentator, Harold Lederman would comment on Alexander?s excessive clinching at the beginning of the 3rd round of their bout. By this time Devon had compiled ?only? a dozen clinches. Max Kellerman would do his best to dispel the notion that Alexander was clinching excessively by attempting to blame Maidana and the ?clash of unorthodox styles? (even though Maidana had no history of ever clinching or falling into clinches excessively against southpaws evident by his bouts against Victor Ortiz and Demarcus Corley linked above).
Lederman stated, ?I?m really, really really unhappy with the work of Steve Smoger (referee), Devon Alexander lands a shot and he grabs and that?s not right. His key defense is to grab. Look at this. He?s doing it over, and over, and over again. Now if you?re the referee, you say Hey! You Gotta Stop Holding! You Gotta Stop Holding! 4 or 5 times and you take a point. That?s all there is to it. Alexander is winning because he landed more shots, maybe not this round but be as it may, Smoger?s letting the kid get away with all that holding.?
(Harold Lederman is a veteran boxing judge who knows the rules of the sport and obtained his license to judge title fights by the New York State Athletic Commission in 1967.)
Lederman would go on to change his tune in the 6th and 9th rounds of the Alexander-Maidana bout for one reason or another as to Alexander?s excessive, illegal holding. I?m speculating that his rightful criticism of Devon didn?t exactly coincide with HBO or the promoter?s agenda to ?build Alexander?s star?.
This is a major problem in boxing as it is the one of the most important, overlooked issues U.S. boxing stares square in the face right now.
While other mainstream sports are constantly tweaking their own rules in order to maximize the viewing experience of their fans, U.S. boxing apparently discards it?s own rules strategically formed to maximize action due to an underlying agenda at hand.
While apologist boxing fans will consistently state a variation of the following… ?It?s a part of the sport now? or ?Muhammad Ali did it? or ?Jack Dempsey got away with it? or ?that?s smart boxing when fighting a strong puncher? or the best misconception to date… ?that?s inside fighting?, these same fans do not seem to be able to comprehend that their own viewing pleasure is at stake due to an incompetent enforcement of standard boxing rules. This fails to mention that this tactic was boring 200 years ago, illegal and boring when Ali did it, and it?s still illegal and boring as hell now.
The push for proper rule enforcement in the sport has nothing to do with wanting to see knockouts or bloody wars each time two boxers step into the ring. Cloud-Campillo wasn?t exactly the most violent affair yet it provided great sustained action over the course of the bout due to clean boxing being implemented. Andre Dirrell vs. Arthur Abraham was a beautiful display of pure boxing by Dirrell as he threw hard combinations, utilized solid footwork, and good upper torso movement to avoid Abraham?s pressure punching up until the controversial stoppage.
Without the proper enforcement of Rule #2, boxing will continue regressing to nothing more than a sporting affair comprised of punching your opponent and subsequently, quickly clinching them as they attempt to punch you back. It is not entertaining and evidently HBO understands this but has strategically decided to look the other way when it fits their agenda to build another American ?hero?. Premium network Showtime is no different as their commentators consistently praised the Super-Six winner, Andre Ward who regularly employs this punch and hold tactic to great success.
Unfortunately these networks fail to realize that the product becomes less marketable the more and more they allow and even encourage this type of ?boxing?.
The scarier part in all of this is the apologetic and/or ignorant boxing media and fans not realizing why this no clinching/holding/wrestling rule exists within the sport.
An interesting comment I received on Twitter stated… ?If a fight is boring, it’s the fighters fault.?
This is not always true as a fighter?s job is to win by any means necessary, not necessarily to provide excitement or entertainment for the public. It is the rules of the sport that mold both combatants to fight in a crowd pleasing manner. As they say in the MMA world… throw two guys in a cage with little to no rules and you?ll most likely end up with a wrestling match on the ground with a few punches mixed in between.
This is where boxing is supposed to differ.
The January 17, 2009 affair between Andre Berto and Luis Collazo on HBO was a sensational bout due to being fought within the confines of the rules of boxing. Berto would attempt to utilize his patented punch/clinch style of fighting when referee Keith Hughes would warn and ultimately deduct a point for excessive clinching after 20 holds by Andre in four rounds. Had referee Hughes failed to implement this specific rule, boxing fans would have been privy to a night of the punch/clinch-style similar to what we saw in the Alexander-Maidana bout.
It?s amazing what one very simple rule implementation can do to the sustained action of a fight and the viewing pleasure of the public.
Imagine the uproar of the people if the Lakers or Knicks were allowed to shoot the basketball every three minutes rather than after 24 seconds due to the networks desiring to see either team in the NBA finals. Imagine if defense in basketball was comprised of punching the attempting scorer in the face without repercussion on a consistent basis.
Imagine the uproar of the public if certain NFL quarterbacks were regularly allowed to pass the ball forward after crossing the line of scrimmage by a dozen yards.
These breaking of the rules would cheapen the entertainment value of the sporting entity and create disillusionment within the fan base.
Boxing can do better now and has done better in the past.
Right now it seems as though the U.S. premium networks are so desperate for a home grown superstar that they are willing to shoot themselves in the foot by encouraging this punching-immediate-clinch cheap rendition of a sport formerly known as the ?sweet science?.
The truth of the matter is that boxing at it?s most fundamental is supposed to be everything that Mixed Martial Arts isn?t. Boxing is not a buffet of martial arts but rather a specialty niche of combat sports. We have 3 minute rounds, a ten second knockdown rule, no ground game, no kicking, no elbows, no hitting an opponent when they are down, and are supposed to have no wrestling/clinching/holding. Due to these rules we have seen such great affairs as Barrera-Morales, Berto-Collazo, Khan-Peterson, Gatti-Ward, Castillo-Corrales, and more recently Cloud-Campillo.
It?s a major problem when the best referee in the American boxing business does not deem 119 clinches within 10 rounds as excessive. It is a major problem when the biggest budget boxing network in the U.S. is attempting to quiet correct criticism of how these bouts are refereed. It is embarrassing when most of the boxing media fails to comprehend why this particular rule is so important to the marketability and health of the sport domestically.
The constant cry of network television exposure is spouted by proponents of boxing in America but what good would it do if the broadcasts are marred by sub-par punching/clinching matches being passed off as boxing in 2012. This is supposed to be sports entertainment and boxing?s edge over anything mixed martial arts related is predicated on it?s definitive rule of the banishment of clinching.
The Boxing Truth has decided to create a definitive statistic called CompuClinch which will keep track as to the exact amount of clinching taking place within most major boxing bouts. This will be done in order to alleviate the ?eye-ball? test in which most will state, ?it wasn?t excessive? or ?it didn?t seem like that much.? U.S. boxing needs a quantifiable measuring stick for this type of statistic as things have gotten completely out of hand in terms of lack of enforcement for this rule.
PS. There has been no Ring Magazine ?Fight of the Year? over the past 15 years that has had over 20 clinches throughout the entire fight. Don?t believe me? Look at the videos and count if you want to.
PPS. Andre Berto vs. Juan Urango is considered one of the most clinch-filled foul fests in boxing over the past couple years. Berto deserved at least one point deduction due to excessive clinching but even still… there was less clinching in Berto-Urango (a 12 round fight) then there was in the recent Alexander-Maidana (a ten round fight).This piece has nothing to do with discrediting Devon Alexander as a fighter and everything to do with criticizing the way referees do their jobs. Devon is a likeable guy with a good story behind him but it doesn’t negate the fact that excessive clinching is a cancer to the sport.
