Klitschko should have been disqualified against Povetkin?

The referee should have done his job, that's all. Warn for holding and then deduct points.

I feel the same about a lot of Hopkins' fights and Ali and Johnson and Ward ... and ... holding ruins boxing. But if Wlad needed to be DQ'd then so do a lot of other boxers through time.

Klitschko would very likely have beaten Povetkin anyway, but allowing him to grab and hold like that was an 'easy money' card.

 

It was a shirtshow, but like @BCS8 mentioned it's on the referee for the most part.
Pretty sure if the referee did his job, Wlad would stop pulling an Ali as you so aptly mentioned, and be wary of getting disqualified.

 

I wish holding was punished much more severely in boxing.

It should be a last resort, like you've taken that many punches you're holding on for dear life.

1 warning, 1 deduction. Every round.

If a boxer is choosing to grab rather than punch then something must be going wrong.

Wlad is a great champ, one of the very best in history, but some of his fights are so bad to watch.

 

I was worse than this

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That performance exposed his true level. Take those huggle tactics away and he's the same guy who got blown away by Brewster.

Its like when John Ruiz wasn't allowed to maul and molest Roy Jones Jr. It exposed how much of his success relied on those illegal tactics.

 

The problem is , some guys have favorable judges , other guys like Wlad had favorable refs.

 

The referee did do his job. That's what he was paid to do, clearly.

 

Except the referee did not enforce the rules , blatantly. Do you support the officiating in Ottke vs Reid?

 

I'd love, probably even more than you, if he'd have had to spend his career not being able to hold, having to fight on the inside.

Not just Wlad, but many others like Hopkins, Ward, Abril etc... I hate that style.

 

It's not as simple as saying he should have been DQd, because with more stringent officiating, more deductions, more consistency, this fighting style wouldn't continue.

 

Wladimir is responsible for his own actions. Pabon merely allowed Wladimir execute the strategy he prepared for in training camp.

 

I think fighting in and out of the clinch is ok as long as you are working in some capacity.