How come fights in boxing went from 15 rounds to 12? Wouldn't it make sense to go to 11 or 13 to avoid draws?

Question

How about this? Title fights stay 12 rounds but if it's declared a draw they have to fight one extra round to decide winner. Now that would be cool!

Guys I should of been more specific. I am well aware that the reason they dropped fights down from 15-12 because of safety concerns. I am also aware a draw could still take place even if there were an odd number of rounds vs. an even amount. But having an odd amount of rounds would reduce the chance of it happening. Plus a bonus round to decided would be pretty cool.. Obviously I am writing this because of the Wright/Talylor fight last weekend.
Draws are fine for non title fights (just like non championship games in soccer and hockey). But when it comes to a championship fight and fans are paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for seats and $50 bucks or more on PPV, a champion needs to be crowned. Tell me one other sport in the world where the championship match can end in a friggin draw! It's ridiculous!

Answer 1

There are two things that happened. One was the ring death of Duk Koo Kim and the subsequent investigation by the World Boxing Council which found that most injuries were sustained in the final rounds. The other thing is that they wanted to make fights shorter for the purpose of fitting them into one-hour tv timeslots.

The problem with the idea mentioned here is that a fighter going into the twelfth round would not know if it was the last round or not. He wouldn't know if he should give it everything he has or if he should take it a little easier and be prepared for the next round. It also would require the judge's scorecards to be known before the fight is over, which is a completely different question altogether.

It should also be noted that most fights which end in a draw aren't just six rounds for one fighter and six for the other. Usually there is an knockdown or even round in there somewhere, and it just ends with at least one judge scoring it even.

Personally, I like the suspense of waiting to see what the judges' scorecards are on a close fight, and I think it's hilarious when the fans start booing and throwing their cups in the ring when it's announced as a draw. But that's just me....

Answer 2

You would get draws in 11 or 13 rounds fights also. The number of rounds wouldn't change that.

Boxing changed from 15 to 12 rounds because of its perception that fighters would get hurt more if they fought longer fights. I don't know if fighters get hurt more in later rounds or not, but that was the rationalization used.

Answer 3

I really don't see how 11 or 13 rounds would reduce the number of draws, or the likelihood of one. I do , however, agree that no championship fight should end in one. I say they should reduce it to 10 rounds. If it is a draw at that point, then fight another round. If it is still a draw, then fight a 12th round. If it is still a draw, reduce the round length in the 13th to 90 seconds, and add one minute to the time between rounds, then keep fighting until there is a decision.

Answer 4

Good idea. But I don't know if any of the 50 state's athletic commissioner would allow fights to go past 12 rounds because of studies that shown that boxers who used to box past 12 rounds were more likely to end up with brain damage

Answer 5

In The 80's people decided that Boxers were suffering to much damage going 15 rounds so the decided to cut it to 12 in title fights and 10 in non title fights.......

there were still draws in 15 round title fights just not as many........

Answer 6

I believe they should go back to 15 rounds for championship fights. Think about boxing history and the great Ali vs Frazier fight in 71 when Frazier knocked down Ali in the 15th round for example. Those were real fights and real fighters. I don't like 12 rounders other than in non championship fights.

Answer 7

The reason they went to 12 (they did this in 1983) is for safety reasons. Though I do agree there should be an odd number of rounds, or at least a provision for an "overtime" of sorts (one or more extra rounds) to determine a winner in the event of a draw.

I have done a bit of mathematical research on the safety aspects of 12 vs. 15 round bouts. If you would like to see it let me know

Answer 8

The beginning of the end of 15 rd title fights occured on November 13, 1982, when Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini successfully defended his WBA lightweight title by stopping game challenger Duk-Koo Kim in the 14th round of their fight in Las Vegas. Kim collapsed in the ring just after the end of the bout and later died from his injuries. Shortly thereafter, the WBC reduced title fights from 15 to 12 rounds. The WBA followed suit in 1987 and the IBF in 1989 I believe. I wish they would go back to 15 round title fights but apparently television likes it better at 12 rounds. As far as "overtime" (1 extra round), I'm not sure I like that idea.

Answer 9

They reduced boxing from 15 rounds to 12 rounds to reduce injuries.

Answer 10

You are right on that draws are not good i think it's bullshit that we watch a fight and then at the end it's declared a draw that's not fair.