I've been looking at the older eras with a stronger microscope... I've noticed that there were some premiere (some not so premiere) championship fights held at a 10 round distance...any reason for this? Examples: - Mickey Walker Vs. Ace Hudkins - Gene Tunney Vs. Jack Dempsey I & II (1926,1927) - Benny Leonard Vs. Charley White (1920) - Benny Leonard Vs. Leo Johnson (1917) - Benny Leonard Vs. Freddy Welsh (1917) There's more, but honestly...it's not worth listing every single fight...this is what I could gather before things felt redundant. What the deal here? I'm curious as to why a 10rd contest was held instead of a longer distance.
Boxing became legalized around this time in the USA. And from state to state there were different limits put on how long a prize-fight could be. That might explain some of them.
If you go back to the time of John L Sullivan, then some title fights were four or six rounds! People argue that early 20th century champions could not compete today because the ruleset would be unfamiliar, but they might have been more at home than many people think.
