Wards use of the head

[wanderingfighter]

1 I have a lot of respect for ward
2 I thought he nicked it against kov

Does he need to be stopped from using the head as he does?

IMO it is excessive, he leads with it and then every single clinch he is pushing it into his opponents face, I personally think he could have had a point or two taken off on Saturday

Here are the Marquess of Queensberry Rules:

To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a 24-foot ring, or as near that size as practicable.
No wrestling or hugging allowed.
The rounds to be of three minutes' duration, and one minute's time between rounds.
If either man falls through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, 10 seconds to be allowed him to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner, and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the 10 seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man.
A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down.
No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds.
Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest; so that the match must be won and lost, unless the backers of both men agree to draw the stakes.
The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new.
Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee's satisfaction.
A man on one knee is considered down and if struck is entitled to the stakes.
That no shoes or boots with spikes or sprigs be allowed.
The contest in all other respects to be governed by revised London Prize Ring Rules.


Other rules:

Boxers are prohibited from hitting below the belt, holding, tripping, pushing, biting, spitting on or wrestling their opponent. Boxers typically wear shorts or trunks with the waistband raised so the opponent is not allowed to strike the groin area. They also are prohibited from kicking,head-butting, or striking with any part of the arm other than the knuckles of a closed fist. They are prohibited as well from hitting the back, the back of the head/neck (commonly called a “rabbit-punch”), or the kidneys. They are prohibited from holding the ropes for support when punching, holding an opponent while punching, or ducking below the level of the opponent's belt. If a “clinch” – a defensive move in which a fighter wraps his/her arms around those of the opponent and holds on to create a pause – is broken by the referee, each fighter must take a full step back before punching again. Alternatively, the referee may direct the fighters to “punch out” of the clinch. When a boxer is knocked down, the other boxer must immediately cease fighting and move to the furthest neutral corner of the ring until the referee has either ruled a knockout or called for the fight to continue; however, once a fighter is knocked down, the referee must count to eight seconds before the fight can continue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marque...ensberry_Rules


Some thoughts:

Both fighters fought a relatively dirty fight if we go by guidelines of the sport. Though I could see the holding by the neck, and rabbit punches from Kovalev as a counter to Ward's method of coming in leading with his head.

Whenever Kovalev connected with a strong lead punch or counter, Ward's tactic was to clinch in order to keep Kovalev from putting shots together. His whole game plan was to clinch to neutralize distance. Though there's a difference between the skill of in-fighting and blatantly clinching with illegal tactics. We can probably look at some videos of past great fighters who fought with an inside style and see if they launch themselves head first into their opponents guard. Maybe we can make some comparisons here.

Also how come Ward did not use his right hand much? I don't tend to watch Andre Ward's fights too often. But is he a southpaw fighting out of the orthodox stance? It seems to me like all he did was throw the left hand, and whenever he threw the right he got countered. That's how he got knocked down in the 2nd round. Maybe using your lead left for the majority of a bout is a good way to neutralize a fighter with a strong right hand? I'm not sure, can anyone in this forum go more into depth about this?

What about this too? Kovalev seems to throw stiff jabs while landing with his palms sometimes? He's got the reach to get away with that, but can any one tell us if that's a punching strategy or a technique issue?

Oh and about the fight. Well I can't decide on a winner. The fight was so close that the winner of the fight is up to the viewer's bias and beliefs. Though I believe that the fight should've been called a draw to protect the stock of both fighters.