In this article, we are going to talk about how long is a boxing round in the different calibers of the match. For example, an amateur match will differ in longevity with a professional bout.
How Long is a Boxing Round?
Professional boxing
In professional boxing, the usual length of the fight is 12 3-minute rounds with a 1-minute rest between them. However, this is the maximum number of rounds. Which means that there are still bouts with 6, 8 or 10 rounds.
However, the rules were not always like that.
Boxing was first legitimized in the early 20th century and then prizefights usually had unlimited rounds. Which turned boxing in a pretty brutal endurance test. Shortly after that, from about 1920 to 1980 championship matches in boxing were scheduled for 15 rounds.
However, that changed in 1983 – 3 months after the fight between Ray Manchini and Korean fighter Kim Duk-Koo who died after a long 14-round brutal fight.
After this, WBC reduced the number of rounds to 12 largely because of the safety of the fighters but also because a 12-round fight is more convenient to broadcast on television.
Amateur boxing
A round in amateur boxing lasts 3 minutes for men and 2 minutes for women. Men fight 3 rounds, while the women fight 4 rounds.
This has been the standard since 2009.
Not so long ago, the participants in amateur boxing had to wear protective headgear. However, in 2016 this rule was removed for men because of research that shows headgear actually increases the chance of concussions.
Conclusion
In boxing, as in most of the sports the rules are different depending on if you are a professional athlete or just an amateur. The boxing round time varies in history and will probably change again in the future.
However, when someone asks you “how long is a boxing round” you should know that a round is 3 minutes for men(doesn’t matter professional or amateur) and 2 minutes for amateur women.
