Should 15 round title bouts return?

Regarding the 'safety issue', I always said - cynically - that the alphabet orgs safety issue reasoning was correct, because they knew full well they were putting a fighter who hadn't a chance in hell into a 15 rounder and knew damn well he could get hurt or maimed. I think the WBC's first 12 round title fight was Albert Davila v Kiko Bejines (I might be wrong on this but it would be close). The question on this has to be asked was how was Kiko Bejines their #1 contender when he hadn't fought in a year and that fight was a loss? Or how was the WBA bringing in all those South Koreans - miraculously as #1 contenders - to fight for a title when they clearly were out of their depth, never having fought a world class opponent? Du-Koo Kim paid for that one. It was the alphabets greed that was causing problems so they opted for 12 rounds out of 'safety' (I think you could read my sarcasm there.)

Truthfully, you could not return championship boxing back to 15 rounds today without making one champion once again and getting rid of some of those ridiculous weight classes that the greedy alphabets created. You couldn't even do it today with 2 champions. Boxing today is truly pathetic with some of these 'challengers' barely having even fought a main event and pushed into a championship match. I'm not going to say talent isn't there, it just isn't developed. You get to 15-0 and they want you fighting for a title. Wait a minute! You don't hand a guy a trowel since he saw a youtube video on bricklaying. He might get away with a few bricks, but the first corner he comes to he's screwed. In boxing, it could be your life. Before a fighter goes into a 15 round fight he should have the experience and talent to deal with it. Not 10-15 fights against ordinary opposition because you're afraid of losing your undefeated record. The boxing world today needs competition, which will teach a fighter what to do when he comes to that first corner.

 

I've toyed with the idea in my head about doing 15, 2 minute rounds, for Championship fights. 12, 2 minute rounds for elimination fights, and 10, 2 minute rounds for other fights. Especially, in the Heavyweight Division (my personal favorite), I think we would get more action out of the fighters. I doubt if that will ever happen, but I think it would be an interesting experiment.

 

Rounds 13, 14, and 15 are the championship rounds. They just don't fight championship fights anymore. They have been abolished, so we improvise the best we can to see who would most likely become the champion. Even a knockout doesn't settle it completely, as the pacing of the fight is altered due to not needing to keep some in the tank for the backstretch.

12 rounders are great.
15 rounders the true test.

 

I really think that the lawmakers in Washington and the various boxing organizations should take a serious look at revisiting this topic. I do understand the safety issues but also there have been some ring fatalities with the 12 rounds as well. Maybe this will entice the fighters to take their training more serious.

 

I miss the 15 rounders, but I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.

 

I think it's more likely we see 11 round championship fights than 15

 

I saw Angelo Dundee discuss it once about heavyweights going 15. He said those big 250 ,260 guys would struggle mightily to make it. I agree. Plus I've seen many fighters today gas out in 12 rounders, like Canelo.

 

Do you believe boxers from previous eras were genetically different from boxers today - in such a way, that they were better suited for long distance fights?

And if this is NOT the case... why on earth would today's boxers not be able to adjust to 15 rounds, just as well as they could back in the "Good Old Days" like, say, the 1920s?

 

it's got nothing to do with genetics, it's size. You don't see 220 pound guys winning marathons or even 5K races. They can't carry that weight, same goes for a fast paced 15 rounder. You think Anthony Joshua could go 15 fast rounds? Yeah, kinda doubt it.

 

Why are you talking about heavyweights? We're obviously talking about boxers in general.

So tell me, what prevents the average boxer today from being able to adjust to 15 rounds, if it was required of them? If it could be done 100 years ago, why not today?

 

Yes, they should.

 

If we look at the last 100 ring fatalities before Mancini-Kim, where we know in which round the fight was terminated... then only ONE of these 100 fights (dating back to 1960) went into the championship (13-15) rounds: Jupp Elze being stopped in the 15th round by Juan Carlos Duran in 1968.

 

Absolutely not.

Fighters safety should come first.

 

the fighters of the previous era were naturally filtered through grueling schedules and 15 round wars. it's literally impossible to do without an near psychotic level of dedication and physical toughness and durability. Today you have guys with plucked eyebrows like Andy Ruiz winning world titles with mud flaps hanging from his shoulder blades

 

A trainer worth the name trains a Fighter to pace himself over whatever the distance is. The tank is only so deep.
Quite often in 15 rounders, you would see Fighters taking breather rounds. They are often mentioned in autobiographies too. 12 round fights have made the action slightly more intensive.
It is a fact that a 12 round fight is easier to fit into an hour long TV slot and that is the main reason for the switch.
The suspense of a 15 round contest was hugely enjoyable to Boxing fans and don't forget, up until the 90's Boxing was still seen as a mainstream sport. Here in the UK, every major newspaper had a full time Boxing Correspondent. Now there are part timers who also cover Tennis or Golf or the papers use freelancers like Steve Bunce.
The sport now has more viewers than real fans and their attention span is limited.