Here's my thing with holding.

It happens a lot, and there are some guys who when they do it it doesn't really bother me. Hatton or Wlad for instance. Hatton, imo, doesn't initiate holds half as much as people say he does and he still punches a lot from the clinch and with the exception of Urango and the first against Castillo, it doesn't take the referee coming in there a whole lot to break it up. He could definitely tone it down but I think he might get a little to much flack for it.

Wlad is a long puncher, he can't punch on the inside worth a damn because he's so big and he has enough power and is exciting enough to be given a pass for me.

ZAHIR RAHEEM. Now that is a guy, who, if he doesn't hold, doesn't win the fight. He wins fights by refs not enforcing a rule. That's what he does. He should have lost his last fight versus...Cruz Carbajal? Or Cristobal Cruz, I always get the two confused. But either way, he should have lost the one to the one who isn't good. I don't see how anyone can be a fan of him.

It's the John Ruiz type of thing. He wins because he negates his opponent's offense by holding. Of course you are going to win rounds when you throw from the outside then eliminate your opponent's opportunity to punch. It's completely against everything that is right really, and at midnight I'm actually pissed about this. Cory Spinks holds his fair share, but you can see that he actually tries to get outside with his feet too, and most of the times he does. An in and out fighter is fine, an in and hug fighter is WRONG.

I doubt I'll ever watch Raheem again. He's on that list with Audley and that's it. Ruiz was close to it but he actually tried to make things exciting versus Toney.

I absolutely hate it. It's one thing when you have two guys sluggish in the late rounds and they both hold on for a bit. But when a boxer has a set strategy to hold, that's when things get bad. I think it's the ABC? The commission that deals with referee and judges training and licensing. THEY NEED TO COME DOWN ON THIS.

One of my favorite refs, Frank Cappocino (which I probably spelled wrong), does take points and he tells fighters before hand that he won't tolerate holding. Frank Cappocino has probably the most exciting fights in the sport because he is such a good ref and in New England where you have a bunch of infighters, that they aren't going to hold.

I didn't see the Simms bout and I'm glad I didn't. Jermain Taylor was bad about it versus Ouma too. Manny Steward's boxers always hold to much though.