What are peoples views on this? Holyfield and Ward became undisputed champions doing it. Is it part of the game and should be accepted as such or should it be called out like Josh Warrington has been the past week? Obviously there will be accidental, deliberate and a somewhat grey area in between which makes it hard for referees to judge what is intentional and what is not and also opens it up to manipulation. (f) holding, butting, or careless use of the head, shouldering, wrestling or roughing 3.38.1 In any of the above cases the Referee shall name the Boxer at fault and call upon them to desist and may in their sole discretion have the power to caution or disqualify a Boxer for any such act with or without reference to any medical opinion. 3.38.2 A Referee may also deduct points from a Boxer’s score for breaches of these rules. They should indicate this to the Boxer, their corner and to the Steward in Charge or the Area Representative present by pointing to the offender, raising a finger or fingers to indicate the number of points deducted and call out the reason for the penalty As per my interpretation of the rules Warrington should have been DQ'ed in the 2nd Lara fight.
A deliberate butt is cheating. How much of cheat probably depends on contact and how much effect it has on the opponent. I didn't see the 2nd Lara fight. At weekend just before the first Knockdown there was a butt I thought that was accidental. The 2nd one along the ropes was more deliberate. Ward was known for it and the Kessler fight was a bit of a joke with how many went in and he should defo have been sanctioned. It's become a bit like people bending below the waist, or excessive holding you rarely see anyone taken points off for it.
Deliberate headbutting an opponent is cheating and Warrington's head tennis a classic case of guilty as charged.
When a fighter has entire head greased up and then goes in the ring and constantly headbutts the opponent with said greased head, it is quite obviously cheating.
Not even a debate. Check out the rules. Illegal use of the head can ruin careers and Referees should be way tougher on it, regardless of who promotes who or how many tickets they sell. Old Harry Gibbs would have slung Warrington out on Saturday and quite rightly.
Classic whataboutism . You point this out in virtually every post. Galahad was banned for 18 months for this. I condemn all drug cheats. Why can't you condemn someone for cheating and trying to injure his opponents illegally.
does anyone remember this? Eubank v Sherry This content is protected Seems very rare to get DQ'd in professional boxing for headbutting, seen it in the amateurs quite often most recently with Frazer Clarke at the Olympics.
Victor Ortiz says even with liftoff in both feet, a headbutt is not intentional or wrong. Fighters who come forward in combination but have below average power in each shot often end up being labeled as "headbutters." Tim Bradley, Andre Ward, and Evander Holyfield among the most famous for such. And this is because their opponent attempts to stand their ground, not threatened or moved by the punches. If you want the geography of the fight to be in the pit of your opponents chest, as Bradley, Ward, and Holyfield do, naturally heads will come together. Like most things in boxing, it is a case by case basis of severity and intent. It is both cheating and part of the game. Those that scream off mountaintops about it probably havent laced or velcro'd up.
If a fighter Is deliberately headbutting then he should be DQd. Its simply not fair and can put an opponents career on the line this is not acceptable. A fighter that gets DQd on a few of occasions for the same offence of headbutting should be banned for a period of time.
It’s the dark arts but if a fighter can do it consistently without making it look deliberate then tough titty.Andre “billy goat” ward had it down.
That ain’t right. Holyfield was never seen as a dirty fighter until after he became undisputed champ. He only then became a billy goat when the steroids made him lose all his hair and like the complete pro he just took this opportunity to add his bald head as just another weapon in his already great arsenal.
As regards actual physical effects in deliberate or not butting, it's painful even in small doses. Full on its devastating. If deliberate It's cheating in the ring IMO. Comes in handy at times out of the ring though. More so if someone's in your face and yapping.
I’m not a big warrington fan but to be fair I think this forum just picks targets and judges then no mater what. I didn’t think he was bad with his head at all this weekend, he’s simply a guy that tears it up on the inside. Holds a high guard, gets in range and fights. His opponents should adjust accordingly.
A boxer who leads with the head as a tactic knowing he will probably cause damage to his opponent can never be sanctioned then as it can only be ruled an unintentional foul. Only a deliberate headbutt is illegal whereas disguised headbutting gets a pass. To hard to prove either way under the current rules. I think Warrington is suffering the effects of an accumulation of factors that have seen the boxing fans turn against him.
