Is holding part of Ring Generalship?

was it?

 

if you run around the ring and jab and clinch then you are using your best speed, and agilty as your best assets but not a ring general.

if you are coming foreward landing ineffective punches but doing enough to pressure the other fighter then you are using your power and chin as better aspects but not a ring general.boxing is more than sluggers, boxers and brawlers


it means cutting the ring, and controlling the other fighter. using aspects outside the box. dominating without landing punches basicly.
prime hopkins, robinson, louis, lewis, holmes, 2 sharp

 

Excessive holding is a foul and subject to point deductions or disqualification. Holding to shut an opponent down on the inside is acceptable within reason. Is it part of ring generalship? If a fighter uses it to their advantage, yes. Most fighters do it, the way Dirrell did it last night was too much.
We've seen fighters disqualified for it as was the case in Lewis vs Akinwande and Tyson vs Ferguson.

 

It was partly due to his clever use of holding tactics that Sammy Angott was able to defeat Willie Pep.

 

This was one of main the parts of Lewis' game that made him so difficult to neutralise, and one of the chief reasons why I've always thought that Tyson would have struggled against him on any given day.

Of the current bunch, Hopkins is a master when it comes to strategic - and at times, blatantly dirty - holding.

 

Normally a fighter holds when he needs a respite. In this case, it is simply seeking a break in the action.

But it certainly can be, if a fighter uses it proactively as part of his style, as McGrain well points out. This was Ali's battle plan in regaining against Spinks: jab, jab, cross; hold when he gets in close to avoid the pummeling. John Ruiz, anyone?

It should never endear a fighter to the judges in terms of scoring, so, as with everything in life, the trick is to find the right balance with this skill in the ring. Had Thomas Hearns mastered the clinch when battling Ray Leonard, he may very well not have ended up a mess on the ropes.

 

It's a grey area is why. Deploy it cleverly and it can be difficult penalize, hence one of the reasons why intelligent fighters, fair or not, often get away with it.

 

Muhammad Ali v. Joe Frazier II is a good example of holding as part of ring generalship.