...until someone scored a KO or TKO... how would it change boxing? Would you see a significant change in the cream of the crop? And if so, which styles would it benefit, the guys who routinely go 12 rounds and can pace themselves well, or the big bangers who can get their opponents out of there quickly and therefore have less long fights? You still have rounds, just that the rounds are unlimited. And would it make for a better spectacle? (serious injuries aside)
I wouldn't want it. You might have the limited guys win who just wait and wait and block punches and just win when the other guy collapses..
Youngsters these days have deterioated their attention spans to the point where they fall asleep in a 6 rounder, now you wanna turn boxing back to marathons? Glad youre not a commissioner
Not sure about indefinitely , I'd just be happy for 15 rounds system to return. That would sort out men from the boys.
well i don't know the answer, but i do believe that the material risk of serious harm to the fighter goes substantially up, and so to me it's not worth considering let's not forget why championship fights were reduced form 15 rounds to 12: the catalyst was the lightweight title fight between Ray Mancini Duk Koo Kim in 1981 Kim was knocked down in Rd 14, beat the count, the the ref stopped the fight; TKO for Mancini. Kim collapsed in his corner; he was rushed to hospital and immediately into surgery, after which he was in permanent coma with no brain function. He was taken off life support. (the tragedy didn't end there, Kim's mother committed suicide a few months after her son's death; and the referee Richard Green committed suicide a few months later. On a lesser scale, Mancini, who was just 21 at the time, was never the same after that. He retired at 31, but in that 10-year span, between the Kim tragedy and his retirement, he had only eight fights--the last four were all losses.) immediately after the fight, the WBC reduced the number of rounds in championship fights from 15 to 12. Within five years, all of the other major sanctioning bodies had done the same.
larger fighters would suffer and fall down rankings. they would not be able to climb rankings in 4-6 rounders.
Interesting post. I didn't know that about his mother and the ref committing suicide. What a tragedy all round.
I would enjoy that. I have wondered which greats of the 15 Rd era especially those with stoppages in round 13-15, or an extra depth of endurance in those rounds might be thought of differently if they fought in a modern era? Which greats of today would not be quite as great because they lacked stamina for those 3 championship rounds? Which guys who are just below great would be lifted to that status by virtue of staying power and endurance?
Many think the 15 rd down to 12 rounder was TV driven, as much as 'safety'. The 1 hour CBS, ABC, & NBC big afternoon fight, back in the 80's: 12 rds x 3 min = 36 min; plus 11 min rests => 47 min. Say 3 min lead-in, 8 min of commercials & 2 min post-fight Summary. 1 HR total.