A Body Blow (ボディーブロー, Bodī Burō) is any attack directed toward a person's torso, particularly the middle area where most internal organs reside.
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Common targets of a body blow include the liver and diaphragm; a less common target is the heart. Kidney blows are considered fouls.
By themselves, body blows typically do not knock an opponent out, though hard punchers can bring opponents down with relatively few ones. As they interrupt the internal organs' regular rhythm, a body blow's worth lies in its setup for a knock out. In disrupting blood flow and proper oxygenation, victims can find themselves unable to move due to shortness of breath, sometimes to the point of feeling suffocation on top of the pain. Thus, a boxer immobilised by a body blow is vulnerable to further attacks.
A body blow or series of body blows may sometimes result in broken ribs. This is highly dangerous to any boxer as there's a possibility of broken bone fragments piercing through vital organs and causing internal bleeding.