Boxing Matches

Boxing rules allowed prize fights to last up to 100 rounds prior to 1900.

Prize fights have not always ended after 12 or 15 rounds. Also known as

bare-knuckle boxing because fighters did not originally wear gloves, prize

fighting dates back to the late 1600s and up until 1900, prizefights were

permitted to last up to 100 rounds.

Prizefighting then lacked safety equipment and had more lax rules of conduct and weight classification. The matches were permitted to last until one fighter was knocked out or

severely injured and unable to continue, and fighters could be hit while

down. In the mid-1800s, the industry began reforming rules, including

adding weight classification, requiring padded gloves, and limiting rounds

to 15.