Why did WBC reduce title fights to 12 rounds ?

[Zaroku]

We all agree that Jose Suliman probably said that, you don't need to find the interview.

We are all just speculating as to why they REALLY reduced the number of rounds to 12. No one here believes the WBC did it for safety concerns, mainly because no one here ever believes anything Jose Suliman says.

("said" - I believe the man passed away; not sure?)

Exactly....... peace my man...

[Ray Corso]

Both concerns were valid and remain so today. The 36 minutes with 12 plus the one minute rest allows all the intros and after bout interviews to get done 25 minutes sooner than a 15 round bout. However the concerns over the "championship rounds" was very real. You seldom saw a lackadaisical championship fight when the duration was at 15! They fought hard throughout and the fatigued fighter could be in jeopardy as the late rounds were completing.
If you don't think a fatality on a network show could cause serious set backs for future programming you don't know much about network programming.


I don't mind the 12 rounds today but every bout is 12 even when theres no title involved. If your on TV it's 12!!!!
The fighters today all most always pace themselves in todays boxing.
Look at Broner coasting the first 5 rounds of his last bout and it cost him the win. All most all of them do it!!!!!

Ray

[Dempsey-Louis]

Both concerns were valid and remain so today. The 36 minutes with 12 plus the one minute rest allows all the intros and after bout interviews to get done 25 minutes sooner than a 15 round bout. However the concerns over the "championship rounds" was very real. You seldom saw a lackadaisical championship fight when the duration was at 15! They fought hard throughout and the fatigued fighter could be in jeopardy as the late rounds were completing.
If you don't think a fatality on a network show could cause serious set backs for future programming you don't know much about network programming.


I don't mind the 12 rounds today but every bout is 12 even when theres no title involved. If your on TV it's 12!!!!
The fighters today all most always pace themselves in todays boxing.
Look at Broner coasting the first 5 rounds of his last bout and it cost him the win. All most all of them do it!!!!!

Ray

I don't want to sound like I am dismissing your remark because I agree with most of it.

But I would like to point out that television suffered the Paret-Griffith fight and didn't change its behavior.

The Paret-Griffith fight was visually far more brutal (at the moment) than the Mancini-Kim fight. We really didn't experience any visual trauma occurring during the Mancini fight, it wasn't until a day later that it became a tragedy.

IMO if TV could ignore Paret-Griffith and go on unchanged, it certainly could have ignore Mancini-Kim had it wanted to.

[Ray Corso]

That bout was a "local" northeast televised broadcast. It was not a national showcase.
The viewing number between those broadcast was extremely different. A nationally televised show sponsored by a major broadcaster compared to the Gillette Cavalcade show is night and day.

Ray

[lightningleeroy]

I don't want to sound like I am dismissing your remark because I agree with most of it.

But I would like to point out that television suffered the Paret-Griffith fight and didn't change its behavior.

The Paret-Griffith fight was visually far more brutal (at the moment) than the Mancini-Kim fight. We really didn't experience any visual trauma occurring during the Mancini fight, it wasn't until a day later that it became a tragedy.

IMO if TV could ignore Paret-Griffith and go on unchanged, it certainly could have ignore Mancini-Kim had it wanted to.

Slightly off topic but am i right in thinking that the paret-griffith outcome is why we now have 4 ropes instead of 3?

[The Old LefHook]

Both concerns were valid and remain so today. The 36 minutes with 12 plus the one minute rest allows all the intros and after bout interviews to get done 25 minutes sooner than a 15 round bout. However the concerns over the "championship rounds" was very real. You seldom saw a lackadaisical championship fight when the duration was at 15! They fought hard throughout and the fatigued fighter could be in jeopardy as the late rounds were completing.
If you don't think a fatality on a network show could cause serious set backs for future programming you don't know much about network programming.


I don't mind the 12 rounds today but every bout is 12 even when theres no title involved. If your on TV it's 12!!!!
The fighters today all most always pace themselves in todays boxing.
Look at Broner coasting the first 5 rounds of his last bout and it cost him the win. All most all of them do it!!!!!

Ray

Your arithmetic is a little off. A fifteen round fight goes 12 minutes longer, not 25. Period. You make it sound like interviews take longer for a fifteen round fight.

[Dempsey-Louis]

Slightly off topic but am i right in thinking that the paret-griffith outcome is why we now have 4 ropes instead of 3?

I never heard that, but I did read that it is why we don't have turnbuckles. _ Supposedly Paret got pushed up onto (seated on) the turnbuckle and couldn't fall. - I have never been able to see that looking at the footage but I did read it. The long pad now covering the turnbuckles allows a fighter to fall.

[Dempsey-Louis]

That bout was a "local" northeast televised broadcast. It was not a national showcase.
The viewing number between those broadcast was extremely different. A nationally televised show sponsored by a major broadcaster compared to the Gillette Cavalcade show is night and day.

Ray

I don't agree. To say that a New York broadcast wouldn't reach enough people to make a social/political impact doesn't seem correct to me. We are talking (at the time) about the largest population center in America. But anyway it was just a thought.

And are you sure that 1950s network broadcasts were only regionalized? I am sure the entire nation was watching The Honeymooners and Uncle Millty. The Cavalcade (on NBC) also carried events like the Rose Bowl and the Kentucky Derby, which we know went nationwide. I would be surprised to find that NBC's shows were only shown regionally, that denies the term "network,' but maybe.

[OCPancho]

Slightly off topic but am i right in thinking that the paret-griffith outcome is why we now have 4 ropes instead of 3?

No, there were 3 ropes all the way to the 70's.
That fight ended the 6oz gloves for welterweights .

[OCPancho]

That bout was a "local" northeast televised broadcast. It was not a national showcase.
The viewing number between those broadcast was extremely different. A nationally televised show sponsored by a major broadcaster compared to the Gillette Cavalcade show is night and day.

Ray

Gillette Fight Night was a national broadcast I think.