Why is dirty boxing called crafty?

Something along the styles of Hopkins and Ward.They just hold too much for my taste.Isn't excessive holding not allowed in boxing?

or some people just want to be hipsters in liking this kind of fighting style

 

It's only illegal if you get caught.

 

Watch a John Ruiz fight..... THAT'S holding. Hopkins was def dirty in the clinches but Ward is just a great inside fighter that smothers the other guys attack and he can still land his own shots.

 

I quite like it tbh.

Being able to beat people who are more athletically gifted than you, who are bigger, stronger, faster, who hit harder etc with technical in-fighting, ring IQ and general intelligence is an amazing thing imo. I can certainly see why fighters like Ward, Hopkins and - on a smaller scale - Molina are frowned upon, but i don't mind their style. This is boxing, you win by any means necassry and if that means fighting 'dirty', so be it. All that matters is getting the 'w'.

 

Clinching as a form of strategy is technically illegal, but most refs choose to ignore it.

 

I've given almost this exact same response to threads hating on molina/abril. takes balls to go into fights with dudes with far greater natural gifts than you and still manage to win based on smarts and tactics. it's not cheating if the ref allows it. blame the refs if the holding is too excessive it's their jobs to stop it, ward/b-hop/molina are just using all the tactics available to them. smart fighters.

 

:deal

 

It is cheating if it's against the rules. Holding excessively is bad for the sport. I'm happy Ward is going against that, but Hopkins has made a career off it. Molina is an abomination.

 

It's an art form in it's own right, and thus deserves some sort of appreciation.

 

I like it because they aren't like 99% of the fighters who don't know what to do in the clinch and wait for the ref to seperate them that's why Steve Smoger is my favourite ref

 

Wlad has made a whole career out of excessive holding, which is illegal.

Hopkins & Ward arent especially dirty

 

Because if not frazier and Ali wouldn't make their top 10.

 

One of your favorite styles, isn't it? Nobody defends and makes a case for B-Hop like you do.

 

The only cheating I would call crafty is the Holyfield headbut, he made it an art.
He even did it to SNV.

 

fixed:good