Why Are Fights Not 15 Rounds Anymore?

[Jone2ts]

I was just wondering why they don't go 15 rounds anymore is it that they are not allowed to are choose not to? I would like to see championship fights go longer for sure, you get to really skilled guys in there that are also in top shape they can go 12 easy and I have seen matches where both fighters seemed aight energy wise and with no real serious damage and it's real close and I just think in some situations the extra nine mins would maybe in some cases give us a better shot at seeing someones will broke or at very lest make it a clearer victory. Someone hip me as to why they no lnger go...and yes i know that one reason is to prevent serious injury but I am wondering if there is more to it really.

[Thread Stealer]

The official reason was for the safety of the fighters, after Ray Mancini-Duk Koo Kim. Kim died after being stopped in the 14th. The WBC went to 12 rounders, and eventually, the others followed suit.

It might've just been a smokescreen for another reason. Mancini-Kim was on network TV, and boxing had a decent presence on network TV around this time period.

12 rounds is easier to fit, taking in the intros and commercials and post-fight interviewers, in one hour, than it is for 15 rounds.

That is believed by quite a few people to have been the real reason for the change.

[Silencers]

It's officially because it's supposed to be for the safety of the fighters but there's no proof of that and it's widely believed it's because it fits into a network's time slots better. It got cut down from 15 to 12 in the mid 80s after the Mancini-Kim fight.

[Fulcrum29]

What I propose is that they do the following:

Keep all fights 12 rounds but make the CHAMPIONSHIP fights into 15 rounds, just the fights that have major belts on the line etc...make the champion EARN his damn belts and accolades.

[Silencers]

So basically just go back to what they used to do?

[Fulcrum29]

So basically just go back to what they used to do?

lol.yea. or at the least make like some new denomination like "super championship" fight and only those will be 15 rounders. And in order for a fight to qualify for this it would have to have a certain number let's say 3-4 belts on the line, i.e. unification where each fighter has 2 belts etc...

[Fulcrum29]

which would mean at the least we could see a good 15 rounder ONCE in a damn while like once or twice a year at least

[Silencers]

I'm all for boxing going back to 15 rounds if it doesn't improve the risk of brain damage, rounds 13-15 are the real championship rounds.

[ferocity]

People already gave you the answers.

I defenitly would like to see 15 rounds. If not for all championships then i would like to see them go back to 15 rounds for every rematch or trilogy. On example where we would of finally gotten an answer to who is better between Israel Vasquz and Rafael Marquez had they gone 15 rounds for there 3rd rematch after they knew exactly what the other guy had where in a 15 round fight both would have to dig deep for the clear winner to emerge.

In fact boxing has to go back to smaller gloves seems like if they could they'd make fighters wear 12oz gloves. And for all the concern they have the heavyweight still wear the same gloves a 147 pounder wears which is ridicules if your concern is about safty. Bring back smaller gloves, bring back 15 rounds. And have referre class for every boxing refferee, some are to inexperiance at the hightest level that sometime a refferee without knowing is too drawn into being a spectator instead of a reffere.