In the 19th century, boxing fights had no time limit. The fight continued until one of the boxers was knocked out or surrendered.The first boxing bout with three-minute rounds did not happen until 1872, in England, and the first bout for the heavyweight championship that was fought with three-minute rounds and gloves did not happen until 20 years later.
Before that, in 1855, a couple of boxers were engaged in a bout in Australia that lasted 6 hours 15 minutes. And in 1825, two boxers in England fought a total of 276 rounds!
But the boxing assaults were also different in those days. A round ended as soon as one of the boxers fell or was knocked out momentarily. The longest fight in history that had three-minute rounds was a fight held in 1893 in New Orleans, between Andy Bowen and Jack Burke. This fight lasted 110 rounds, or seven hours and 19 minutes, and ended in a tie when both boxers would not continue!
A boxing ring is called a 'ring' because in ancient times, Roman boxers fought on a circular platform.
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