<P> In title fights, this is called "the championship distance," which once was 15 rounds but today usually means 12 rounds (See history section), though there were some ten - round championship matches . Non-title fights can be of any length under 12 rounds but are typically 10 rounds or fewer . Women's championship boxing is ten rounds or fewer, each round lasting 2 minutes instead of 3 for men . </P> <P> In the early days of bare - knuckle boxing, there was no limit on the number of rounds and so matches would be fought to a conclusion (i.e. with a knockout or tap out). For example, the match between Simon Byrne and James' Deaf' Burke in 1833 lasted 31⁄4 hours . Subsequently, laws and rules were passed to prevent such protracted bouts . When John L. Sullivan made boxing under Queensbury rules with gloved hands popular, his matches were of a pre-determined length and the referee would decide the winner if they went the distance . If a match reached the prescribed limit without a formal result then the result would be "no - decision", though one boxer might be considered the winner by popular acclaim--a "newspaper decision ." To regulate such results better, official judges were appointed to award points so that a technical winner could be determined . For a period, titles in many US states could not be lost if the match went the distance . </P> <P> For amateur boxing, the Amateur Boxing Association of England set rules for the length of a match when it was formed in 1880 . Initially there were three rounds of 3 minutes with a break of 1 minute between them . Changes were made in 1926 and 1997 and most recently, in 2000, the International Boxing Association made it four rounds of two minutes each . </P> <P> In professional boxing, until the 1980s, the "championship distance" generally referred to the title rounds that numbered between 13 and 15 . For decades, the last heavyweight title match scheduled for less than 15 rounds had been the September 22, 1927 10 - rounder between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey; from then, the only bout that was not scheduled for 15 rounds had been a scheduled 20 - rounder between Joe Louis and Abe Simon on March 21, 1941 . This changed though, following the death of lightweight Duk Koo Kim in 1982 after his fourteen - round fight with Ray Mancini . Almost immediately, the World Boxing Council (WBC) issued a statement saying that WBC world title bouts would be set for 12 rounds . </P>

How much time do boxers get between rounds