12 round limit, saved lives?

[la-califa]

Has there been any cases, where the Twelve Round limit. legitimatley have saved someone's life? Fighter's who were in serious trouble & the three additional rounds could have been tragic? I know it's all speculative & not fact. But an interesting query.

[GPater11093]

we will probably never know as the last 3 rounds might have killed them but htne again it might not have

BTW i want 15 rounds reinstated

Any fall in the death rate of boxing has been to do with improved safety measures and medical care ringside not reduced rounds

[MrMarvel]

It seems to me the whole idea of death as a deteriminant in number of rounds is irrelevant. People are killed in football. People are killed in motorsports. There are so many sports - and occupations - where the possible outcome is death.

If the goal is to save lives and preserve health then ban the sports. But since people should be able to choose for themselves how they will live their lives, it seems that banning sports is a rather totalitarian idea.

If a man chooses to risk his life - parachuting, wire walking, mountain climbing, enlisting in the military - who are we to tell him he can't?

We need 15 round fights again. Bring them back. It makes a difference in the way the game is fought at the elite level.

[la-califa]

Has the mortality rate in Boxing dropped, since the Championship distance has been dropped to 12 rounds?

[Flea Man]

I agree with Pater. Watson-Eubank was a 12 round fight. The only reason Watson suffered serious medical problems is due to the fact that there was no decent medical assistance.

15 round fights are the way to seperate the men from the boys, but they will never be back.

[ripcity]

In thory yes but it is imposible to know. There have been tradgies in fights going 12 rounds or less. The question is how many 12 rounds fights would have ended in tradgy had they gone 13 or more rounds? Most boxing related injury comes from an eclumlation of punches rather from a single shot nomatter how hard. So saving a boxer from 3 rounds of being hit pontintioly saves lives.
In the 12 vs. 15 debate I favor 12 rounds with 3 extra rounds in the event of a draw.

[TheGreatA]

I don't think the death rates have dropped significantly. Boxers still die, mostly in countries where the safety measures are not up to the standards that they should be.

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Even in championship fights the occasional tragedy does happen, such as in the cases of Leavander Johnson, Akeem Anifowoshe, Gerald McClellan, Michael Watson...

In the 1950's and 1970's, no fighter died in a championship bout from what I know.

[Russell]

Pretty sure the statistics haven't dropped much if at all, considering many deaths occur in places like South America and in Eastern countries where it's borderline human cock fighting at some places.

Seriously, scroll through a list of recent boxing deaths and look at how many come from said areas and see how many of those fighters you've ever even heard of,

[Longhhorn71]

The original purpose of the change from 15 rounds to 12 rounds was to fit a championship fight into a hour on home TV (CBS, NBC, ABC etc)

12 Rounds
12 x 3 mins plus 11 mins for rest periods = 47 mins
Add the prefight & post fight wrap-up equals an hour.

15 Rounds
15 x 3, plus 14 mins for rest periods = 59 mins
No time for anything else.

[la-califa]

The original purpose of the change from 15 rounds to 12 rounds was to fit a championship fight into a hour on home TV (CBS, NBC, ABC etc)

12 Rounds
12 x 3 mins plus 11 mins for rest periods = 47 mins
Add the prefight & post fight wrap-up equals an hour.

15 Rounds
15 x 3, plus 14 mins for rest periods = 59 mins
No time for anything else.
Funny thing is... There are no more fights on network television.

[Flea Man]

And there was me thinking it was due to the Mancini-Kim fight.

[fists of fury]

I'd say no.

In most cases where there is a ring death, it has been because of incompetence on the part of the relevant control board or ringside officials on some level. Corner men can field some of the blame too.

Clipping 15 rounders to 12 rounders has made next to no difference as far as safety is concerned, in my eyes. The logical conclusion, if the number of rounds was the main determining factor in fighter safety, would be to make championship fights 6 rounds, or 4 rounds...which is ridiculous.

Sure, in a long fight there may be more potential for permanent injury or death, but it's up to the officials at ringside to protect the fighters properly, and the duty of the control boards to give the fighters a thorough medical beforehand.

[TBooze]

Twelve rounders I supect have killed more than have been saved. As fighters do not go that extra mile in training, when they have a fight over merely twelve rounds rather than championship distance.

As mentioned, the safety aspect of twelve rounders is spin; the only reason we have twelve rounders, is back in the 80s, they fit into a TV hour, for the benefit of Terrestrial (Network) TV.

[anut]

yes they do

[Mr Butt]

no

[Shake]

Twelve rounders I supect have killed more than have been saved. As fighters do not go that extra mile in training, when they have a fight over merely twelve rounds rather than championship distance.

As mentioned, the safety aspect of twelve rounders is spin; the only reason we have twelve rounders, is back in the 80s, they fit into a TV hour, for the benefit of Terrestrial (Network) TV.

Strange statement. I suspect not many have been saved -- but a lot of damage has been prevented. I would like to see 15-rounders again, most fighters know the risks and I'm not one to tell a man what he can and can't do, but the final few rounds, when a fighter is tired, emotionally spent or physically hurt are almost always the most damaging.

[TBooze]

Strange statement. I suspect not many have been saved -- but a lot of damage has been prevented. I would like to see 15-rounders again, most fighters know the risks and I'm not one to tell a man what he can and can't do, but the final few rounds, when a fighter is tired, emotionally spent or physically hurt are almost always the most damaging.

Fighters of this era are not used to hard fights, they have it too easy on the way up and when things start getting rough, they lack the mileage of toughness needed.

If 15 rounders were brought back, fighters would need to prepare better, respect their weight etc... And by doing so, surely this would lead to less, not more injuries?

[Shake]

Fighters of this era are not used to hard fights, they have it too easy on the way up and when things start getting rough, they lack the mileage of toughness needed.

If 15 rounders were brought back, fighters would need to prepare better, respect their weight etc... And by doing so, surely this would lead to less, not more injuries?

I do agree with this point -- a lot of fighters drain excessively and are not in their natural weight-class. I do disagree with the notion that toughness prevents braindamage -- it's precisely the tough fighters we love so much that usually end up paying the bill. Getting used to it is not a good thing from a medical standpoint.

That said, it's a slippery slope. Boxing, at its core, is damaging and unhealthy. We're always negotiating with our conscience when we implement these kinds of rules -- and the effect is always limited. Men will find a way to test their limits no matter what rules you give them -- they will adapt, and give their all.

I shudder when I think of Erik Morales having a 15-round career. :)

[red cobra]

No..the 12 rounders havent saved any lives, all they've done is to undermine the tradition and significance of the sport of boxing...like split titles, too many "jumior titles" (except juniorwelter)..and the like...oh..and these "catchweight" fights...bring back 15 rounders.

[ChrisPontius]

Not in a direct sense, but obviously it's less damaging to the brain to be pounded for 12 rounds than 15 rounds.