Why Mike Tyson only have one 15 round scheduled fight?

[The Old LefHook]

All championship fights should be scheduled for the full nine rounds, the last two thirds of the ninth round being known as the championship stretch and which really separates the men from the boys, by all the Gods!

[soul_survivor]

Hagler v Leonard was also 12 rounds. I remember reading Leonard wanted that as part of the contract and Hagler was happy as long a she got paid more lol

[Dempsey-Louis]

I was just looking on BoxRec and I was remembering that they stopped doing the 15 round title fights and went down to 12 instead around 1987 if I’m correct. Well I was looking st Tyson’s record and it appears his only scheduled 15 rd Fight was Oct. 16, 1987 against Tyrell Biggs and it was with all 3 titles on the line. It ended in the 10th but it says it was scheduled for 15. Why is it that Tyson’s fights against Tony Tucker(Aug. 1st, 1987) for all 3 titles, and Pinklon Thomas(May. 30, 1987) for WBC and WBA titles were only 12 round fights? Also his fight for the WBC title against Berbick from late 86’ was also scheduled for only 12 rounds. Just curious why none of these except the Biggs fight were scheduled for 15 rounds

There was a 'sweet spot' (for lack of the better term) where the WBC had already changed to 12 round championship fights while the WBA was still hosting 15 round championship fights (1985-1987).

For example, in 1986 the Don King fiasco in Miami, "The Preamble to Bramble" had on the same card lightweight champions Bramble (WBA) defending against Rosario over 15 rounds and Camacho (WBC) defending against Boza-Edwards over 12 rounds.

I realize this doesn't answer your question directly because during this period Tyson's fights jump back and forth between 12 and 15 rounds; but maybe because Tyson held all three titles the WBA and WBC may have been compromising on the issue of rounds, i.e. taking turns setting the rules for Tyson's fights.

By the end of '87 it seems the WBA caved on the issue, as all fights became 12 rounds max. e.g. After taking the WBA title from Bramble in '86 Rosario's WBA defense against Chavez in November '87 was contested over only 12 rounds.