Should punches to the back of the head be an automatic DQ?

Should be under more scrutiny.

 

That would be wholly unenforceable, I assume, because landing behind the head is totally unavoidable. It happens in every fight, practically. If it's extremely obvious to be on-purpose, a real, obvious, authoritative punch, maybe yes. But there are so many cuffing shots that simply partially extend to back of the head, so many times a punch thrown legally, has a head turn away in the course of defensive maneuvering and forces an "illegal" land. It's not like if you throw a belly punch, guys are often jumping up to make it a ball punch, but with rabbit punches, that kind of thing is normally happening. Do you know how often a guy is giving you the back of his head for long enough to display that you're deliberately punching it to land a rabbit punch? Not relatively often. Then if the ref is doing biased shenanigans, you've got insane chance for getting relatively clean fighters out of there on a DQ and not being able to be held accountable for it.

 

I think the majority of back of the head shots are because the fighter getting hit is leaning in and looking to clinch, I could be wrong but it is not an area that a fighter can realistically target, it can happen but repeated shots to the back of the head are normally the fault of the fighter taking the shot.
It is certainly far from clear cut and to punish it as instant disqualification is not the right move.
I have more of a problem with a fighter who is constantly trying to get a clash of heads and looking to cut his opponent, this is more often used as a tactic than targeting the back of the head.
I think the referee should have access to an instant replay of any controversial or borderline calls, for example low blows or did the glove touch the ground.
I think the only instant penalty should be when a fighter deliberately spits their gum shield out to buy time, this should not need a warning and should be a two point deduction the first time. I also think that fighters don’t get warnings often enough for falsely claiming low blows, this is in ring fraud.

 

Its tough because you have guys like Floyd who bends at the waist so an opponent punches and, after defender moves, that punch lands on back of the head. It goes without saying intentional rabbit punches should be a DQ and suspension

 

Wow, we are on the same paragraph of the same page.

 

No. The ref really needs to take points rather than just repeated warnings, though.

As for guys bending down, and getting hit behind the head, this is again up to the ref on being familiar with each fighters styles.

 

I think that refs are always going to be reluctant to take points from a fighter, I don’t think that is because of criticism they might receive but it’s more likely that they as (almost certainly) boxing fans are duty bound to keep the action going and have as little influence on the proceedings as possible, the best refs barely get noticed.
This is the fight game and if you are getting punched in the back of the head then you are doing something wrong.

 

I don’t know if it holds true but perhaps the less technically proficient boxers are more prone to landing shots to the back of the head. E.g. Deontay Wilder who always appeared to land far more than the average bear.

 

Depends on the political affiliation of the person receiving the Hit.

 

No because depending on how the fighter is trying to evade punches, sometimes punches will land on the back of the head (brain stem). Now if you're simply holding and clubbing to the back of the head (which also happens alot), there should be a 2 point deduction. If it's a continued issue, a dq, but no not outright

 

Rabbit punches were David Haye's specialty and most important strategy. He would have been just another journeyman without them. He would aim for the back of his opponents' heads, and the dodgy UK referees would permit it.

Marco Huck was also notorious for doing it, as was Sam Peter.

Max Baer once killed a man in the ring with a rabbit punch.

Nigel Benn permanently disabled Gerald McClellan with a blow to the back of the head.

They are called "rabbit punches" because trappers of rabbits would often find a rabbit still alive, and so they would quickly kill the rabbit with a blow to the back of the head, snapping the spinal cord.

from wikipedia:

"A rabbit punch is a blow delivered to the back of the head or to the base of the skull, notorious for its potential to cause severe and irreversible injuries, including spinal cord injury or even instant death."

 

I think Foreman did it against Frazier and Ingo against Floyd (first fight s)