Why were there more "draw" fights in the past?

I'll take Carlos Monzon as an example (although I could go back to the 1920s).
9 "draw" fights out of 100. He even had two tied fights in a row twice in his career.

 

It seems like draws were really a thing in Argentina. Nine for Monzon and a staggering 14 for Locche.

 

It's not just Argentina.
Jack Dempsey 84 fights 9 draws.
George Foreman 81 fights 0 draws.
There were more draws in the past

 

Iirc, a fighter needed to win by at least 3 clear rounds in South America to be awarded a win. E.g. if an 8-rounder was scored 5-rounds to 3, the official result would be a draw.

 

Like the guys said, it was very common-place in South America. There was a Brazilian fighter I always remember. His name was Heleno Ferrera. His final record was 79-39-37. At one point he had 7 draws in a row.

 

Yes. For a bunch of reasons.

 

That doesn't explain Dempsey 9 draws, Foreman 0 draws. But it's my fault, I set a bad example with Monzon - so everyone got attached to Argentina and South America. I'll fix that...
Lineal HW champions:
Jack Dempsey 9 draws
Gene Tunney 1 draw
Max Schmeling 4 draws
Jack Sharkey 3 draws
Primo Carnera 1 draw
Max Baer 2 draws
James J. Braddock I'm not sure how many, but at least 4 draws
Joe Louis 0 draws
Ezzard Charles 1 draw
Jersey Joe Walcott 1 draw
At least 26 draws in the careers of the first 10 lineal HW champions
====================================================
Rocky Marciano 0 draw
Floyd Patterson 1 draw
Ingemar Johansson 0 draw
Sonny Liston 0 draw
Muhammad Ali 0 draw
Joe Frazier 1 draw
George Foreman 0 draw
Leon Spinks 3 draws
Larry Holmes 0 draws
Michael Spinks 0 draws
5 draws in the careers of the next 10 lineal HW champions
Now it has nothing to do with Argentina, or South America.

 

In these latter years judges are almost forced to score a round for a fighter. Back then many close rounds were scored even, which I think was a good thing.

 

Well in some cases and more than people care to believe, 'if' an invested fighter or Nationalistic hope wasn't winning beyond all doubt, in fact was seen to be losing, well, 'a Win' would be too obvious a fix, corruption or robbery, so the next best outcome is a Draw, rather than a Loss.

It is an easy way to save or protect the owned & invested hope... it has happened numerous times.

there was a Canadian Contender VIC FOLEY, he was a great little fighter and at 'home' in Canada he couldn't get a fight with McClarnin, now it might have been timing, credibility deserved or not... but the interesting thing about his career, he fought all over the U.S, was a Contender and he met, beat or lost to some of the greatest, but Vic Foley also had 29 Draws.

you have to believe that at least a couple might have served to 'nullify' his Title Hopes further.

Boxing at the TOP among the Owned Favorites is too often a shaped history...

I don't take it serious anymore, for every great Champ, there are at least a dozen or two just as capable contenders, opponents or possible opponents.

as a young fan, like so many, I used to believe the Champion was the greatest in the World, I was actually deflated years later when I learned, seen and discovered for many, it is just Not true.

that's why I always cite great fighters as "Among the Best".

 

6 of Dempsey's draws were 4 round fights. There's probably hints in that stat.

 

None of those numbers really jump out as excessive other than Dempsey's, considering how often the older guys fought compared to the guys nowadays.

Even Leon’s three draws were legit. I saw two of those fights with the Eddie the Animal Lopez fight being one of the best heavyweight fights you will ever see.

 

Why didn't Eric "Butterbean" Esch have 6 draws?
Because it is:

 

No worries, mate.

Without checking your specific examples, but rather by way of a general explanation, the higher number of draws in late 19th and early 20th bouts will be at least partially explicable because there weren't always judges scoring on a strict round by round basis. I.e.:

1. For decision bouts, the referee may conclude it was an even bout and announce a draw. This obviously would lead to draws, where by modern criteria, they fight may have, for example, been scored 143-142 using a round by round scoring criteria.

2. No decision bouts, where writers were split as to the winner, can be recorded as NWS draws on Boxrec.

Hope that helps.

 

It helps; thank you.

 

Mismatching = knockouts=more crowd interest and money.