A century or so ago, boxing matches had no time limit. A fight continued until one of the boxers was knocked out or gave up.
The first boxing match with three minute rounds wasn’t fought until 1872, in England, and the first heavyweight championship bout fought with gloves and three minute rounds didn’t take place until 20 years later.
Before that, in 1855, two boxers fought a match in Australia that lasted 6 hours and 15 minutes. And in 1825, two boxers in England battled for a total of 276 rounds.
But rounds, too, were different in those days. A round ended as soon as one of the boxers fell down or was knocked down.
The longest fight that did have three-minute rounds was fought in New Orleans in 1893, between Andy Bowen and Jack Burke. This fight lasted 110 rounds, or seven hours and 19 minutes, and ended in a draw when both boxers refused to go on.
A boxing platform is called a ring because in ancient times, Roman boxers fought on a circular platform.
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