That looked like a serious rabbit punch, with the knuckles, straight into the back of the head, much worse than most cuffing type shots you'll see. The elbow was very short and I doubt it did much, probably not as much as the rabbit punch. The way this was told it seemed like it was a minor rabbit in the clinch then a full roundhouse elbow. This was a good elbow, and consider that if the guy wasn't aiming punches into the back of the head, he wouldn't have been in a position to receive a reverse elbow.
Watch it again. Breidis goes for a leaping left hook immediately followed by a clinch (funny you should mention Wladimir). Glowacki wants to carry on punching on the inside but Breidis turns away and offers him the back of his his head. You can’t do that in boxing, protect yourself at all times. Don’t turn away and expose yourself in a clinch because you have zero inside game. Glowacki is within his rights to carry on punching until the ref shouts break. These kind of rabbit punches happen all the time, but I can’t remember an instance where a fighter reacts by elbowing an opponent in the face, on a break no less. By the Queensbury rules that is an instant disqualification.
I've watched it numerous times. Briedis doesn't turn away; he doesn't "expose" himself. What happens (and it's bloody obvious on the video footage) is he gets his right arm caught across Glowacki's right shoulder after Glowacki ducks under it. When Glowacki throws the left Briedis has to turn due to his trapped arm and the motion of Glowacki's body. Nothing in that short instant is Briedis's fault, unless you consider him to have attempted to initiate the clinch to begin with. It's within the ref's discretion to disqualify an opponent, penalise them, or take no action whatsoever, not the fighter's.
He could pop for steroids. Maybe not this time but later for sure. Dorticos culd upset him if he gives his all. Dorticos wasn't far of beating Gasiev prior being hurt, so you have to give him at least a 50/50 chance against Briedis.
Nope, Glowacki is not allowed to carry on punching if Briedis turns his head. But Briedis isn't allowed to turn his head either, like you said. So if Glowacki does rabbit punch him, it's Briedis' fault. It's one of those ****ed up gray areas. And anyone who has boxed as long as those two, they know that when you turn you head like that, you will get rabbit punched. Briedis was like that Pikachu meme.
Ok, I've rewatched it several times as well. What's not obvious: – was the first punch (which landed on the back of Briedis' head) intentional or not? So-so... What is obvious: – Briedis elbowed Glowacki intetionlally; – Glowacki wasn't really hurt by it, tried to simulate and ask for a DQ, but then changed his mind. Then Briedis knocks Glowacki down by a punch which almost landed on the back of Glowacki's head. And then follows the most ****ed up part of the fight. The knockdown after the bell. The best thing Glowacki could have done, it's not to get up after that punch... Unfortunately, he was really shaken and was unable to think about such nuances at that moment...
Gassiev vs Dorticos was a good fight, but Dorticos was losing that on everyone's card. He had succes early on, but from round 5 on Gassiev had taken over and Dorticos needed to drop Murat multiple times in the final round to salvage a draw. Instead he got nailed and stopped. You really needed some Cuban tinted glasses to believe the fight was up in the air going into the final round. Briedis would be a clear favorite against Dorticos imo.
He gets his right arm ‘caught’ over Glowackis shoulder? That’s called a clinch and it’s intentional. I already stated Briedis initiated the clinch. Leaping left hook/clinch combo straight out of the Wlad handbook. I think you need to watch the tape one more time.
Good post, however he can legally carry on punching until the ref stops him - he’s not allowed to target the back of the head but when an opponent is turning away, naturally shots are gonna end up landing there.
Getting your arm twisted over an opponent's opposite shoulder exposing your whole back and right side is not the way any sane man clinches. Maybe Wlad, but that's because he has a height advantage on most opponents and can get leverage with that arm to push them down into a headlock. It clearly wasn't intentional on Briedis's part, unless you can tell me what possible advantage it might have given him and provide real life examples of fighters intentionally clinching similarly-sized opponents in that way. Briedis probably did initiate the clinch (nothing wrong with that; it was early in the fight and Briedis hadn't set a precedent for clinching) but the position he ended up in was clearly a result of Glowacki ducking under his right arm. The subsequent rabbit punch was one hundred percent Glowacki's fault since Briedis was no longer in a fit position to defend himself at that point.
