Punch to the back of the neck while sparring

[Joao]

Sparred with a guy who started boxing this year, like me... since i think we shouldnt go all out and we really should just get the feel of the ring at first since we are newbies i told him to go slow and soft so we didnt hurt eachother. no problem in pucnhing fast(although i would like to keep it slow really) as long as we just touch and dont really hit, was what i said.

Went for 5 rounds, all good in the first round, really slow, just getting the fill of it, learning i should react to punches, working on my technique, some counters here and there, a really good round. In second and third round he went a gear up, i still could control the fight pretty well since im used to fighting and controlling distance since i did competitive karate all my life. he started to throw some nasty and strong hooks which i defended and gave some hooks of my own, but stopping right before they would hit the side of his head or eye, i thought he was just trying out the hooks so i really didnt tell him to go slower but aparently he wasnt so happy to be just touched with my jabs through all the round and some hooks here and there. i would also stop hitting and give him space whenever i cornered him or pushed him to the ropes and would just back off and give him space to get back in the game. Eventually he started to get more agressive and in the fourth round i closed the distance in order to avoid a full force hook and the bastard curled it a bit so it would hit the back of my neck with full weight behind it. i felt really dizzy but continued to fight. in the next round i fought mainly on the defensive and only hitted a clean strong hook on his eye just to show him i could hit hard too if i wanted too...


My neck was pretty sore after it and i had a light headache(the typical light head'ness after sparring of someone that didnt cover his head the way he should) after that hit. Itts still pretty sore today and though the light headness still persists it has improved since yesterday.


My questions are:
-Is that punch to the back of the neck even allowed?! i dont thin i ever saw it on boxing matches but i dont see nearly as much boxing as i should tbh... that thing hurts like hell and it shook my brain on the inside of my head like if it was clothes in a washing machine.

- Is the way i tryed to spar wrong? i really thought we should keep it slow and controled since we are still just learning to box and that the important thing right now is to feel confortable in the ring and learn how to react to different types of punches and situations. But maybe i was wrong? am i supposed to be more agressive?

- i seem to feel more comfortable just keeping my distance and work the jab on my opponent, while ocasionally throwing some 1-2's, feints and some hooks in the mix, and countering when he leaves gaps when he punches... problem is, my reach isnt that long... it is not really short, its just that it doesnt seem fit for that kind of style. i had no problem in timing my shots and counters but they fell short most of the times(maybe due to inexperience more than reach really, but truth is i cant really tell). So, question. Should i aim to be more of a fighter type instead of a boxer type, despite feeling more confortable working on the outside rather than the inside?


Thanks in advance for the replies and sorry for any grammar mistakes or plain piss poor english.