Boxing Term of the Day: Low Blow

A low blow is any punch that falls below the beltline.  In other words, if you punch someone in the gonads, the privates, the family jewels, the place where the sun don't shine, etc... you have just given a low blow.

In boxing, you get three hits before a point is deducted.  It is an illegal hit and when it happens, your opponent has up to 5 minutes to get himself ready to fight again (at least in professional boxing).  This is at the discretion of the referree who makes the decision based on what he thinks is the severity of the blow.

It is also up to the ref when a point is deducted.  If it is obviously intentional, he may not wait for three before you issuing the penalty.  In a normal match though, the first hit to the groin is generally considered an accident.  The second will receive a warning and the third results in the point loss.

It may seem all fun and good to nail someone where it hurts and risk the penalty, but if it is late in the fight, 5 minutes of rest may be just what your opponent needs to break your rhythm, recuperate and come back at you even stronger - especially if he was out of breathe.  He may even welcome the hit.

Check Round 11 for the Low Blow

Consider the recent fight between Hopkins and Calzaghe.  Hopkins received what was purely a glancing blow somewhere close to the mid section and referree Joe Cortiz gave him 5 minutes to recover from it.  This was late in the fight and Hopkins milked it for all it was worth.  Replays did not make the hit look as bad as Hopkins made it out to be.  But when all was said and done, Hopkins came back at Calzaghe a renewed boxer - I bet he was actually thankful for the low blow. Thanks to Combat Sports Network you can see this for yoursef - check round 11.