Below is a list of boxing phrases and terminology commonly used in the sport.
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Palooka -
A tenth rater, a nobody, and a lousy boxer with no ability who usually loses their fights in four or six rounds to boxers who are just starting out in their careers. It's synonymous with tomato can or ham and egger. There was a comic strip created by Ham Fisher in 1928 that featured a good-hearted, slow-witted and inarticulate boxer named Joe Palooka.
Paper Champion -
A champion who doesn't defend his/her title against worthy opponents. Making the title as worth less than a piece of paper.
Parry -
Changing the trajectory of an opponent's punch using the gloves to slap away the shot.
Paw -
To meekly poke a jab out.
Peek-a-Boo -
A boxer holds his hands high in front of his face in defense and to sneak peeks at opponent's attacks. Floyd Patterson and Mike Tyson used the Cus D' Amato forearms-up peek-a-boo. Archie Moore used the arms-across peek-a-boo.
Phone-Booth Fight -
A match where both boxers have committed to fighting at close range. There might be some bobbing and weaving and some slipping of punches or covering up to avoid them, but both women are remaining in range to be hit.
Phone-booth fights are considered "fan-friendly."
Pitty-Pat Punches -
Punches that lack intensity when they connect. They're the kind of punches seen in amateur boxing that rack up points but have no destructive effect. Also referred to as cheap punches, pitty-patty punches or pitty-patty slaps.
Play Possum -
To act hurt in an effort to get an opponent to over-commit.
Plodder -
A slow-footed fighter with no agility.
Point Deduction -
When a foul or series of fouls warrant a one-point penalty, the equivalent of losing a round.
Pound-for-Pound (P4P) -
The best boxer overall based upon his or her boxing skills whatever the weight. Pound-for-pound rankings compare boxers regardless of weight by using criteria such as boxing records, percentage of wins by knockout and level of competition to determine who is the better boxer.
Power Punches -
Hooks, straight rights or lefts, uppercuts, or stiff jabs that land solidly to the chin, head, or body that inflict damage.
Promoter -
The person primarily responsible for organizing, promoting, and putting on a professional boxing match. Usually it's not the hotel, casino, or venue where the fight is going to be held unless they are the primary ones putting the fight on and there isn't a promoter. It's unlawful for a promoter to have any direct or indirect financial interest in the promotion of a boxer. These rules only apply to fights of 10 rounds or more. A boxer can act as his or her own promoter.
Prospect -
A boxer who hasn't reached her limit yet, seems to have all the tools but no one knows if he has the heart and chin because of being untested against stiff competition. This boxer is still on her way up, and in one way or another is an unknown commodity.
Pull One's Punches -
A boxer is said to pull his or her punches when he or she uses less force than capable of, holds back from using all ones strength.
Punch -
Use of fist to in combat to inflict winning advantage. Basic punches in boxing are the jab, straight right (cross), uppercut and hook. Then you have the corkscrew delivered off a jab or cross and the wide swinging uppercut called the bolo punch.
Punch-Drunk -
In boxers it refers to Dementia pugilistica, a neurological disorder triggered by repeated blows to the head over an extended period of time. Symptoms include slurred speech, dementia, dazedness, confusion, and inappropriate behavior resembling alcoholic intoxication.
Puncher's Chance -
When an under-skilled, but hard-hitting fighter must rely solely on his punching power to win a fight.
Purse -
Money paid to two professional boxers for engaging in a fight. The amount of the purse is contractually guaranteed prior to the fight and is not altered by the outcome of the fight. Promoters pay the boxers the purse and out of the purse a boxer pays their cornermen (manager, trainer, and cutman) a percentage. Sanctioning bodies also demand a percentage of the purse. Boxers usually end up with 50 to 70 percent before taxes.
Purse Bid -
An initial step in arranging a professional boxing match. Involving the fight's/card's promoter(s). All interested registered promoters may bid on the amount of the purse (the total money that the fighters will be paid for the match), if the sides representing each fighter fail to agree on it before the deadline. The highest offer wins; however, the winning entity must produce a small percentage of the total amount up-front by a certain date. How the fighters will split the purse is negotiated between the fighters' respective representatives. Purse bids are often won by one of the two fighters' promoters.