I was puzzled when scrolling through boxrec to discover that Chuck Wepner’s win over Randy Neumann in 1974 for the New Jersey heavyweight championship (contested where else but Madison Square Garden in NYC, of course, lol) was scheduled for 12 2-minute rounds. Anyone have any idea why? What other notable fights (apart from women’s bouts, which at least for a long time were set for 2-minute rounds) were scheduled for 2-minute stanzas instead of the long-established 3 minutes? Figure my buy @scartissue might be able to shed some light on this, but all information is welcome.
No idea. First i have ever heard of it. Could it be because one of the guys took the fight on short notice and felt he didn't have enough stamina for the full 45 minutes and somehow managed to negotiate a shorter fight?
I don’t know. Obviously the NYSAC sanctioned it with that round duration, but you’d think with any sort of title on the line — even that of a neighboring state — they wouldn’t budge on something like that.
I had to look this up. Apparently New Jersey rules at this point stipulated 2 minute rounds. You may well ask why that would matter when this fight was in New York. It seems to be a mistake on Boxrec. In this article right before the 1974 fight, Neumann talks about how he feels the 3 minute rounds will benefit him, as opposed to the 2 minute rounds in their previous meeting in New Jersey. https://ibb.co/TxpPmyGC In 1972, he was indeed grumbling that the 2 minute rounds lessened the advantage of his superior conditioning. https://ibb.co/xR3jqw8
Pat, although I went through a lot of material leading up to this fight and after, I can find nothing stating this to be a fight of 2 minute rounds. It could be a mistake, but not certain. One thing of note I did catch while looking up all three of their fights was their second fight had an odd 'sudden death' stipulation. 3 more rounds were to be added to the fight if the bout was a draw after 12. And that the referee would decide after 15 (the referee was the sole official in New Jersey for many years).
2 minutes rounds are pretty common in the amateurs here. Especially lower level or younger guys. I might be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure I've seen minute and a half rounds and 1m rounds.
Yep, it’s a staple in amateur boxing in the U.S. at least for novices and kids (below a certain age, I forget what). At some point there had been for ‘open’ fighters (experienced and above age 16 I think) an option to make a fight for 3X3 (three 3-minute rounds) or 5X2 (five 2-minute rounds). Tournaments afaik for open have always been 3X3.
Thanks. Does this mean in the 1970s (and presumably the ‘60s and before?) that ALL fights in New Jersey were 2-minute rounds? Or just NJ state title fights? (I realize you may not know, so asking you and anyone else who might know.)
Yeah, pretty similar here. I think as soon as you reach seniors here (18+), you lose the headguard and go to 3m rounds, but like in the US, I imagine there's some form of discussion with the fighters before that point.
It's odd, I only came across a handful of references to this, when you'd think it would have been more widely commented on. Evidently it dated back to 1963, when several state commissions experimented with 2 minute rounds as a safety feature in the wake of Davey Moore's death. New Jersey was the one that stuck with it. It seems to have been for all fights in the state, not just title fights, unless you got the rule specifically waived by the commission, which you could do by arguing that you were a seasoned, experienced professional who could cope with 3 minute rounds. https://ibb.co/mVj4WSHN https://ibb.co/ksMYCNCX
Wow. I wonder if there are significant fights that took place over 2-minute rounds that we just don’t realize were shortened rounds, with that tidbit not remarked upon and kind of lost to history.
