Boxing

Fouling must be ended! No more ifs and butts

Janne Romppainen

04.06 - It’s often said that a fighter can win a fight not only by using his fists but by using his head too. Well that is true, but it is not supposed to be done as literally as Evander Holyfield does in his fights. We got the latest example from his tactics last Saturday when his intentional and unintentional butts caused a terrible swelling over Hasim Rahman’s left eye.

Holyfield is a tremendous fighter even at the age of 39 and he is without a question one of the best heavyweights of all time. But that doesn’t change the fact that he is also one of the dirtiest top fighters out there. Holyfield has been using his skull as a weapon for years but he has always gotten away with it as he did on Saturday as well.

Accidents happen, of course, and possibly the butt that finally gave Rahman another forehead was indeed an accident. But Holyfield butted Rahman about five times before that, certainly they all were not accidents. Nor were the fights against Bowe, Tyson, Foreman and Lewis, all of which have caused Holyfield accusations about butting. Even the referee noticed those incidents against Rahman but he didn’t give Holyfield a single warning, why, that is beyond me. Maybe he just respected The Real Deal too much to do anything about it. If so, he isn’t big enough for his job. The referee’s main task is to protect fighters and fouling definitely is a risk for fighters health.

It is stupid to claim that head-butting or other fouling is a part of the game. It is not. It is clearly forbidden in the rules and thusly it shouldn’t be allowed by anyone, not even by a national icon such as Holyfield. Boxing is a tough sport yes, but there is a line between legal and illegal acts and that line should be respected, else you could come to the ring with a baseball bat. A fighter doesn’t have to be prepared for dirty tactics, in fact he should be able to count on that the action is tough but fair.

On the next Saturday we are going to see the long-awaited match-up between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Since the fight includes Mike Tyson the chances are that things will get nasty in the ring. It’s truly a shame if the outcome of the biggest heavyweight match of the new century is decided by fouls. The referee Eddie Cotton is facing a big task in here, trying to control this hot-blooded fight. He and other refs should remember that nobody is above the rules, not Tyson, not Lewis and not even Holyfield. Luckily Cotton seems to be the right man to referee this bout, I think he did an excellent job in the second foul-filled Bowe-Golota fight.

 


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