I know very little about boxing. What are the rules on clinching?

I don't know much about boxing, but I was watching the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight last night and it looked to me like every time May would get into trouble, he would just reach out and start hugging Manny so that he couldn't get off a powerful punch. This seems to happen a lot in boxing - what are the rules on it? Thanks for any clarification.

Anonymous2015-05-03T16:44:51Z

Yon clinch when someone you're fighting is vey aggressive. You try to stop there attack by holding them for a few seconds. Look at Wlad fights for instance. He will show you how to clinch and drain someone energy. It looked like Pavetkin haven't ate anything for a week after Wlad was done with him. He barely could stand on his feet when the announcer said their names.

Anonymous2015-05-03T16:38:33Z

It depends how often and the circumstances. Usually the ref will warn a fighter for constant clinching, however Floyd did enough to keep it unnoticed by the ref.

?2015-05-03T17:11:18Z

Thanks for the clarifications. I know almost nothing about boxing, but it really seemed to take the wind out of Manny's sails every time Floyd did that. It's amazing how quickly the fight went by!!

?2015-05-03T18:54:18Z

Yon clinch *there