A sharp blow made with the edge of the hand on the back of somebody’s neck. In this modern civilized world, no sport is meant to be an instrument for killing the opponents who take part in the competition. In this post, we will discuss why rabbit punches are illegal in boxing.
Reasons for rabbit punch illegal in boxing
Boxing is a serious kind of combat sport, in which two people engaged in fighting wear protective hand gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards to avoid serious blows and to minimize injuries. Rabbit Punching is illegal in most fighting sports because it can lead to serious spine and brain injuries.
Professional boxers are aware that the back of the head is a place where the spinal cord, an integral part of the body, is located. The spinal cord is the central nervous system of the human body, in absence of it, a man is mentally invalid. This physique weakness of even a giant fighter makes him vulnerable to his opponent who might be smaller than him. An intentional hard hit can damage the spinal cord and cause paralysis and serious spinal injuries.
Rabbit punching also leads to brain injuries. The human brain stem, located at the base of the skull, is a key part f motor and sensory systems. As it works S as a Central Nervous System, it regulates our cardiac functions. A fatal edge or blow of the hand at the base of the skull can cause a cardiac arrest and permanent disability on the part of the opponent that sustained the injury.
Penalties for the fighters who try to rabbit punches:
According to boxing regulations, the referee is found very busy watching the fight closely to administer discipline and main in the rules. Rabbit Punches are one of the dangerous illegal ways to weaken the opponent fighting in the ring. There are penalties for the fighter who resorts to Rabbit Punches. The referee executes penalties dealing with the degree of offenses, situation, and factors, mainly as follows:
- To judge whether the punch was deliberate or unintentional.
- If the rabbit punches too hard to bear.
- The injury made him discontinue the fight or whether he is ok to continue the fight.
- Analyze the extent of damage done by Rabbit punches violating the rules.
If both the fighters clinch each other and try to hit on the back of the heads, the referee separates them, yelling the most used phrase “watch the back of the head!” as a warning. He even pauses disregarding the points deduction. Regarding the rabbit punch, the concerned referee has the power to deduct the points already earned by the violating boxer. He lost the point to the opponent because he failed to follow the referee’s warning. If the fighter repeats, committing Rabbit Punches, and the opponent gets seriously injured making him unable to continue the fight, the referee will disqualify the boxing law violator. In most cases, when a fighter gets hit hard by the opponent in the ring he loses control of him and angrily attacks his opponent. Most of the time they are attacking each other as enemies, rather they are professionals to earn their livelihood.
Boxing is an extremely enjoyable sport that takes not much time, compared to other games, and it doesn’t deserve an unethical behavior by the opponent, nor does it deserve a tragic end at the hand of other professional boxers.