These are the 3 commands that referees use to cover everything that happens in a fight. Box ... is obvious. Break... is an order given when boxers clinch and need to be seperated so they can continue to box. Stop can be ordered for a number of reasons- to issue a warning, to get tapes fixed, to stop the fight, to replace a mouthguard, to have a cut inspected and a number of other reasons. These orders have been around for decades and are international even in non english speaking rings. In recent years there has been a tendency for refs to confuse break with stop with a growing number of refs calling stop to break the fighters. I know it's only a minor point and most people would not even notice it but at this time of the year there's not much happening in boxing so I might as well whine about it now. I am a purist and I like to see every aspect of professional boxing conducted in a professional way. I get a little perplexed at refs like Tony Weeks who calls "stop'' about ten times every time his fighters clinch instead calling a firm ''break'' once. Don't get me wrong I think Weeks is 1st class but you have to wonder what goes on at seminars. I remember a few years ago when this started happening the fighters would be in a clinch and hear ''stop'' and would break then drop there hands down by their sides and look at the ref expecting to get a warning or something else because they were used to hearing the order to ''break''.
Yeah there was a similar thing in a Australian fight where the ref said ''let him go,let him go'' to one fighter. The ref moved in to break them up and the other fighter punched him in the head and knocked him down just as he moved in to break them up. He was deducted a point where some people thought it was a legit knockdown and it would have changed the fights result.
Time is the other one that is used if referee has to stop the fight(for doctor to examine a fighter or for referee to talk to fighters etc.).
If break has not been called the fighter has every right to throw a punch. "'let him go'' is just an order on the run similar to ''don't hold'' or ''work your way out of that''. I have twice seen a ref move in and peel the fighters apart without saying anything. The fighters continued to punch which was their right with the ref pulling one guys arm back. One got knocked down and the other was koed. These results would have been legitimate except for the fact that the beaten fighters had their arms held back which allowed thé openings for the kd's. I would have been appealing for at least a no contest if I was them. All a result of the ref not adhering to basic commands.
Yeah but the fighter who threw the punch was unpopular so they let it go. But stop,break,box and time are the 4 officially recognised referee commands.
