Was the no clinching rule ever enforced strictly?

No.

Next question?

 

Henry Akinwande was disqualified for it ...against Lennox Lewis

 

I think the interpretation of straight MoQ around the turn of the century, was actually a lot more holding, with hitting with one arm free being fine. I think Terry McGovern was a fan of straight MoQ for that reason.

Senya said MoQ was originally for amateur contests, so possibly that was interpreted differently.

 

I can't abide by it, unless you're actively fighting within the clinch. The way guys like Duran and Ambers did it, I'm all for. The way guys like Lewis and Ruiz did it is an affront to the sport. Emile Griffith was kind of an inbetweener. Far from a favorite of mine but he could do some very effective work inside, even if it bored me. Honestly Ezzard Charles isn't all that much better in a lot of the footage I've watched.

Sandy Saddler is the one that's right on the fence. He was a monster offensively in the clinch. Even if he was ugly to watch, he was always working. However, when you throw in the fouling it's hard for me to even justify. I don't rate him nearly as highly as most.

 

Many!

 

Go watch the amateurs. You’ll love it.

 

Seriously the Marquis of Queensberry Rules seem to outlaw wrestling but I don’t see that equating to clinches happening.

Today’s rules don’t actually seem to address it: https://www.abcboxing.com/unified-rules-boxing/

I do believe if you dig into state athletic commission rules you’ll find “excessive” holding/clinching. That’s quite different from saying a fighter can never hold nor clinch. What’s excessive is left for the referee to interpret.

The other thing is: who are you going to penalize? Look at Tyson-Bonecrusher and you’ll see Tyson is as willing to clinch as Smith is. Look at Wlad-Povetkin, where a lot of people say Wlad held and you’ll see time after time where Povetkin will work close to Wlad and immediately throw both hands outstretched under Wlad’s armpits — to the point where the only way Klitschko can avoid a clinch is to literally throw both hands in the air.

So how about defining what you mean by holding/clinching and tell us how you would enforce it and who you would penalize under the various circumstances where such things occur?

 

I’m not a fan of it, but can understand why it’s done, Joshua vs Andy Ruiz seemed like it was necessary but than you have John Ruiz who just holds and holds, I cannot watch a Ruiz fight because of this

 

Good post

 

The clinch is part of your skills set as a Boxer. Any coach or trainer worth his salt will teach you how and when to do it.
You may need to recover from taking a shot, need a breather or need to manoeuvre an opponent. It may not be aesthetically pleasing but we're talking about a fight.

 

Bernard Hopkins is almost praised for being a dirty fighter