Deon Potgieter BOXING
Jon Robinson, president of the World Boxing Union (WBU), came out in favour of bringing back 15-round world title fights at a boxing convention held in Cape Town recently.
Although the matter has been placed under review, if the WBU does revert to the 15- round fight as opposed to the 12-round format currently in use by all world title sanctioning bodies, it could have far- reaching ramifications. Five of the 13 WBU world champions are South Africans. “It would give their [WBU] champions a higher level of credibility as opposed to the other world champions who fought over a shorter distance,” says fight analyst Terry Pettifer.
Many involved in the fight game feel that the sport lost something when it was decided in the early Eighties to reduce world championship bouts from 15 to 12 rounds. “I’ve officiated in 50 world title fights over 15 rounds and over 50 at 12 rounds,” says Stanley Christodoulou, internationally renowned referee and judge. “I can assure you, it does make a difference. To be a true world champion, you’ve got to fight over 15 rounds. Most of the classic ring battles were determined in the later rounds; had they been over 12, fans would have been robbed of some spectacular performances.”
A case in point was the phenomenal 14th- round knockout Arnold Taylor scored in clinching the World Boxing Association bantamweight world title against Romeo Anaya in 1973. At the end of round 12 he was far behind on the scorecards, having been dropped numerous times himself.
“When you reach the 13th and 14th rounds, that’s when the fighters have to dig deep to prove who is the best,” says Christodoulou.
The history books are full of examples of champions only turning their bouts around in the last third – great bouts featuring the likes of Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano and Mike Weaver to name but a few. Indeed, fighters and fans alike often proclaim in the modern era that had some fights been longer, other decisions would have been forthcoming. The most recent of those was the World Boxing Organisation junior flyweight world title clash between Hawk Makepula and Baby Jake Matlala, which Makepula controversially won on points.
“As the veteran boxer was picking up steam and appeared to be growing stronger, the younger man was fading,” says Christodoulou, who refereed the bout “Had the fight been a little longer, we could have seen a very different outcome.”
“I don’t agree,” says Dingaan Thobela, current national super middleweight champion and former two-time lightweight world champion.
“If you make title fights 15 rounds again, there will be fighters who still say, if the fight was longer I could have won. What then, will we go back to 20- round fights?”
One of the main reasons for the shortening of world title fights to 12 rounds was that it would be less hazardous for boxers. “From a medical point of view a 15-round fight is more harmful than a 12-round bout,” says Dr John Fleming, a recognised authority in the field, “purely on the basis that the boxers would receive more accumulative punches to the head in this time. Also, fighters are tired in the latter rounds, so they are not able to resist the force of the blows as well as they could do in the earlier rounds.”
“Boxers suffer from exhaustion and dehydration in the late rounds,” adds Thobela, “and this makes them more prone to injury.”
‘Boxing is a brutal sport,” says Pettifer. “Rules must be implemented to make it as safe as possible for the boxers, but I don’t think they should have ever done away with the 15-round format. It removed an element of the sport’s competitive nature.”
Christodoulou concurs: “If they want to make it safer they should be stricter on the boxer’s weights. Currently, a boxer is weighed the day before a bout; by the time he climbs into the ring he’s way over the limit. Boxers should be weighed on the same day of the fight. That alone will have a bigger effect on the safety aspect than shortening the bouts could ever have.”
Another reason for the 12-round fight and one that could be the real deciding factor is television scheduling. A 12- round fight can easily be accommodated within a one-hour time slot, while 15- round fights have a tendency of running too long. The sad truth is that most sports are dictated to by the television gods. The event will change to suit the television broadcaster.
“Boxing is no longer like it was in the days of the 15-round title fights,” says Thobela. “It is a commercial sport now. The fighters are there to entertain the fans and put on a good show, not to get seriously injured.”
“I wouldn’t be so opposed to 15-round fights in the heavier divisions,” says Fleming. “The lighter fighters are the ones who really hurt each other, they hit each other far more than the bigger men do.”
“I’m not in favour of 15-round fights,” says Corrie Sanders, WBU heavyweight world champion, “Twelve rounds are long enough.”
Part of the allure of 15-round championship boxing is to see two well- conditioned athletes, pushing their limits and giving it their all, striving to reach the top against the odds placed in front of them. A battle not only against their opponent, but against themselves. After all, it’s the inner struggle the true fight fan relates to. Does the 12-round bout offer this?
“The Comrades Marathon is one of the most gruelling races on the earth,” says Christodoulou. “Would the winner still be so acclaimed if the race was shortened?”
With the plethora of world champions around today, perhaps returning to the 15-round championship fight would add some credibility to a sport in dire need of some real champions.