Fouls such as head butting or punching low are prohibited of course. But are you allowed to fake a headbutt, or even a kick? If you threw a punch way below the border but stopped it right before it lands, you might get your opponent to drop his guard too low and then take advantage. Or, if you pulled your head back as if you were ready to butt as hard as you can, you might get your opponent to react, and smack him with a legal shot instead. Is this allowed? I skimmed through the regulations and I couldn't find a rule that would prevent it.
COMMITTING the Foul is Against the Rules...PRETENDIING You're Going to Commit a Foul Isn't, to REED's Knowledge... REED
I assume the same. Though according to rules, the referee can rule pretty much what he wants, the rules are much less exact than in most sports. I believe if some fighter started to fake fouls, the ref would nag, despite the rules
we can deduce 'no' because fighters are constantly warned for back hands (usually jabs), even when they don't land.
No, it isn't. The referee can only intervine and penalise a fighter when they're absolutely sure a foul occured. If someone feints with an elbow and/or lifts their leg up like they're gonna throw a kick, there's no rule which they should be penalised under. They're just being a bit weird. Essentially, it's not illegal but a referee who isn't very diligent might give you shit for it.
Reminds REED of When Arthur Mercante, Sr. Admonished 2 Fighters (Fairly Sure it was Roy Jones and David Telesco) for TALKING as They Fought.... They Never Stopped Talking Shit to Each Other Though and Thankfully Mercante, Sr. IGNORED It After Awhile, as Opposed to Issuing an Official Warning or Deducting Points... If Fighters are Talking In Lieu of Throwing Punches, That's One Thing, But Roy Administered a Pretty Healthy and Sustained Ass Whupping That Night... REED
I don't remember which fight it was but I believe it was Michael Nunn fighting somebody. It was early in the fight (maybe the 2nd round) and the other guy lost his mouthpiece. He turned a bit sideways, stepped away and implied to the ref that his mouthpiece was gone. The ref bluntly extended his arms, ruled a TKO and explained that "you don't have a timeout". I could imagine such strict ref to hand out deductions for talking, or faking a bnut shot, too
It would always annoy me when his son would always demand fighters to stop talking in the ring (Cotto-Judah fight), but he would stand there when Whitaker almost killed Hurtado on the ropes, or how he refused to listen to Yuri’s corner when they tried to stop the Cotto fight. And then HBO praised him for being a “take charge referee”.
Is there a rule in boxing about fair play or something of the same ilk? Id be surprised of there wasnt, and faking a foul would definitively go against it
And another similar question would be is it legal to fake being fouled. This can have a much more important effect on the result of a match
If the ref assumes that a low blow or a butt isn't hard enough to prevent the fouled fighter from continuing, he can rule a TKO if he doesn't fight on. Another thing that comes to mind is the fight between Mercer and Witherspoon. Witherspoon looked at the ref as if he wanted to complain about something and simultaneously fired a shot against Ray. So yeah, I assume it is legal to fake being fouled, it is up for the ref to decide if the fighter is faking it.
I think it would be well within the ref's rights to warn the fighter for that behaviour. Fighters are warned for persistently extending their arms for range finding and to put off their opponent. I think a combination of the crowd reacting (assuming there was a crowd) and the opponent's reaction (complaining to the ref) would in reality bring some sort of talking to by the ref to the fighter doing the feinting.
