By Gerardo Granados: In an era of circuses, soft pseudo boxing fans, and in an era when boxers are praised for quitting, it is time to get manhood back into the ring.
Also in an era where TV has shared its power with diverse internet platforms, why not offer quality boxing event instead of the usual garbage to the real fight fans, after all, we would be pleased to pay for a quality fight.
By the way, if by any chance the reader is one of those soft boxing fans who cry out loud to stop a fight once one fighter is in trouble, well then you better skip this article and go find something else to do.
The s*** circuses won’t go away, so why not give the real fight fans something to enjoy too. How about bringing back the epic real championship rounds.
Can you imagine that Floyd Mayweather made a fortune for getting into the ring against an aficionado and to carry him into the last round? The YouTuber also made a lot of money for showing how limited he is as an aficionado boxer.
The sad part of all of this is that the real boxers see them get rich meanwhile they struggle to get well paid for their honest effort inside the ring.
Some say that the 15 round title fights were shortened to 12 rounds to protect boxers; others state that it was because it was a way to fit a television format and to have one fight per hour.
The two arguments sound reasonable enough to be the real reason.
But now a day we have eternal ring walks that include wrestling-like paraphernalia, even worse the promoters include mediocre singer’s performances before the boxer finally enters the ring cold after the long wait that includes singing national anthems and long introductions. So the TV arguments are no longer valid.
As far as I know, the WBO never sanctioned a 15 round title fight. Because the WBO was founded in 1988, by then the WBA, WBC, and IBF already had reduced their title fights to 12 rounds.
The last fifteen title fight sanctioned by the WBC took place back on October 16th, 1987; when Iron Mike Tyson defeated Tyrrell Biggs by TKO 7/15.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCyOGlY6XWU
This was also the last heavyweight championship fight to have been sanctioned for fifteen rounds by the WBC, WBA, and the IBF.
The last fifteen rounder that the WBA sanctioned took place between Evander Holyfield and Dwight Muhammad Qawi back on December 5th, 1987; having Holyfield as the winner by KO 4/15.
On August 4th, 1988 at the Plaza de Toros Calafia in Mexicali, Mexico. Jorge Maromero Paez became the IBF featherweight champion defeating Calvin Grove by MD 15/15. Being this title fight the last one aired on American television.
The last fifteen-round title fight that the IBF sanctioned took place back on August 29th, 1988. In Thailand, when the IBF minimumweight champion Samuth Sithnaruepol defeated In-Kyu Hwang by UD 15/15.
According to BOXREC on August 27, 1990; Harold Brazier fought against Buck Smith in a nontitle 15 round fight that ended in a no-decision.
Back on December 28, 1993; the IBO sanctioned his last 15 round fight, a super middleweight title fight between the Nevada hall of fame member Vinny Pazienza and Dan Sherry.
The Pazmanian Devil won the fight by KO 11/15.
The last fifteen-round fight that I know about took place between Eric Holland against Jose Flores in June 1997. The WBB sanctioned it for its middleweight title. Flores won the fight by SD 15/15, becoming the last boxer to win a sanctioned 15 round fight.
The nostalgia of the 15 round title fights might be shared mostly by the old boxing guard but I bet that once the younger boxing generation is exposed to this type of fights, that for sure the interest would demand more fights.
If now a day the tubers and tik tokers get the attention from the major boxing media outlets and also from the boxing media puppets, then why not try to get something really special back? They, the puppets, oftentimes cry out loud that the circus events are good for boxing, which is a blatant lie. So, why not have a special event for the real boxing–fight fans.
If now a day boxing commissions allow aficionados into the ring at main events, then there is no valid reason to ban a fifteen-round fight between real fighters.
Let’s get real fighters, the ones who show up to fight. Offer them a good purse but also a cut on the pay per view. Forget about most of the so-called big names; let’s go back to prizefighting essence. Let us have a genuine fight and not just a glorified sparring session as today most main events portray. Let´s put a halt to boxing emasculation and bring back boxing glory.
I know what real fight fans will answer, nonetheless, I must ask. What about you, would you pay to watch a 15 round fight?