Do big SHWs get away with illegal clinching more?

Had a thought the other day. "What if every time the ref has to separate fighters he takes a point?" No more clinching, faster fights, and infighting is a thing again.

 

I absolutely agree. And I'd add Tyson Fury to the list of people who get away with endless clinching against smaller guys.

 

It's more a height thing than a weight thing. No cognitive bias, just simple physiology. If a short guy closes the distance with his chin properly tucked chances are if he miscalculates by just a few inches he's going to wind up under the taller man's armpit. This makes it impossible for either fighter to punch effectively. This clinch must be broken for the action to continue. It favors the taller guy and top level pro's know it. No cognitive bias just the way human beings are built. For the record I don't think holding and uppercutting should be illegal. It's far and away the best way to land an uppercut. Holding the head to land a hook isn't nearly as frowned upon by boxing fans and many great hookers and inside fighters did it. It shouldn't be illegal.

 

Lol we'd get golf scores. The shorter guy would end up with a less negative score just because they are shorter. I say this as a trained fighter 6'4" 175lber who has sparred a lot. If a short guy ducks under my jab or hook it happens often and with no intent,just two people collide and that's where they end up more often than not.

Not saying some tall fighters don't absolutely abuse clinching on smaller fighter. Inactive clinching should be penalized. Active work from the clinch should be encouraged. It makes for better fights and a truer barometer of a fighters skills. Infighting should not be allowed to be smothered entirely. Refs needs to learn the difference. Steve Smoger is the best example I can think of. He lets guy work from the clinch. Rather than extend the taller fighter the the gift of distance for inactive clinch work.

 

I usually don’t go for dramatic rule changes but this one is interesting. Taller fighters would have to learn to fight inside their preferred range (or escape to safety) without tying up their opponents and bringing the action to a screeching halt. Could be unintended consequences though, like taller/longer fighters being even more conservative and less likely to get into exchanges, in fear of giving up distance.

 

In the post fight interview AJ said he would have been happy to fight inside,he is stronger and heavier and was landing the uppercut well.The ref was ridiculous, but I'm not sure more close work would have necessarily been to Parker's advantage,still he was winning nothing at range so his options were very limited.

 

There is no such thing as "Super heavyweight". Since the 1970's pretty much every contender and champion has been 6'2 to 6'6 with the exception of a few guys like Mike Tyson, Joe Frazier and few other guys. In any case Ali did more clinching than Anthony Joshua, Wladimir Klisthcko or any other guy you can name combined.

 

Poor little Steve Cunningham has to practically carry Fury on his shoulders after scoring an early knockdown with Fury grabbing him and leaning down with his full weight at every opportunity. No wonder Steve was totally exhausted and wide open for Fury's punches by fights end.

 

I think you definitely have a poiint.

I think a lot of the death of infighting is so few seem to know how to fight on the inside now. They come in, they clash heads, and just seem clueless and often give up until the ref breaks, I don't know why. There were people infighting well back when wrestling was more allowed in boxing than it is now. Hell Corbett seemed very proud of his technique where he'd lock both opponents arms with one arm, then uppercut.

 

Do smaller heavyweights practice getting clinched? Like do they get big guys to lean and tie them up and try to practice ways to avoid, get out and make the best of that situation. Given how important it is to a lot of them I would think they should spend a lot of time practising it, but a lot just seem to accept it when they get tied up as if nothing can be done. Or is it just too hard to do anything about?

 

Do big SHWs get away with illegal clinching more?

A better question is, are they better at it? The answer, yes.

But not all skilled super heavyweights clinch. Vitali Klitschko for example seldom clinched, he'd instead let his fist fly as an outfighter or infighter and moved so well for a big man, his smaller opponents had trouble catching up.
What I dislike are the holding and hitting, that's a foul, and Joshua is guilty of it. So we Lewis.

When fighters have advantages, they use it when needed. Boxing evolves as new needs or trends that help define winning. So the countermeasure to clinching is being a good in-fighter and throwing short shots to the head or body. Also, you don't have to " fall " into a clinch.

 

You'd list Tyson Fury over Wlad?

How many small guys did Fury endlessly clinch? There was Cunningham , who he eventually brawled on the inside to a stoppage , and if you go back and watch again , you'll see it was Cunninghams strategy to pepper him with quick 1-2 , then fall into him with a hug.

 

Really good post. Don't agree one hundred percent, but a well-rounded and informed suggestion. I would only add, that if you're right, I would have thought that more TV stations/commentators might be complaining about it. But then, maybe I'm being naive... The 'TV guy' should always win.

 

Heck no, I'd not rank him over Wlad in terms of clinch abuse. Wlad was already mentioned, though.