Unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano reignited a debate that has long divided opinion in boxing when she vacated the WBC title last month after the organization refused to sanction 12 three-minute round title bouts.
Serrano’s fight against Danila Ramos last October saw the Puerto Rican retain his WBA, WBO and IBF titles; For the first time since 2007, women were in the ring for a championship match as long as their male counterparts.
But Serrano’s celebrations were short-lived after the WBC refused to approve an extension to the length of rounds in women’s boxing, citing “health and safety” concerns.
Women’s championship-level fights are typically fought over 10 two-minute rounds, but there are growing calls for female fighters to box for the same amount of time as men.
Serrano, a lightning rod for equality in women’s boxing, was one of 20 female fighters who signed a letter last October calling for women to fight for 12 three-minute rounds.
“We won the three-minute round selection of 12 rounds for championship fights to demonstrate our skills and greatness,” the group wrote.
‘Two-minute rounds are a USP’
Advocates of extending women’s title fights argue that female boxers have a better chance of a knockout if they stay in the ring longer – Serrano threw a career-high 1,103 punches to defeat Ramos by unanimous decision – resulting in a more tactical fight that allows competitors to out-score their opponents requires it to.
But others, including Irish boxer Katie Taylor, argue that 10 two-minute rounds encourage faster-paced matches and therefore increase entertainment.
“It’s definitely not a priority in my eyes,” insists Stacey Copeland, who made history by becoming the first British female boxer to win a Commonwealth title in 2018 and now chairs sporting equality charity Pave The Way.
“Ten two-minute rounds differentiates women’s boxing from men’s boxing in a really exciting way. Twelve can be truly explosive, high-intensity women’s boxing is eye-catching, draws you in. In a way, it is the USP.”
Chantelle Cameron, who fell short of Taylor in an epic fight for the undisputed world super flyweight title two months ago, has been vocal about fighting in the longer format.
“I’d love to push myself to do what the men do,” she told Telegraph Women’s Sport last year. “There’s a lot more punch in the two-minute rounds – it’s more intense – but in the three-minute rounds you can’t argue with the pay. Women should get equal pay as men because we do the same. “It also makes it more exciting because there will be more stops.”
The WBC’s strict stance is based on women’s safety. Mauricio Sulaiman, the organization’s president, pointed to scientific literature showing that women are at greater risk of concussions the longer they fight in the ring.
Women are twice as likely to suffer a concussion as men, but a paucity of studies on female boxers has led to skepticism in a sport where women have traditionally been an afterthought. There is general agreement that not enough research has been done on women alone.
“Twenty years ago, [boxing authorities] “We were in a huge panic about what we were actually going to wear in the ring and whether the boobs were going to fall out,” says Copeland. “It’s very backward. When we went back 50 years, we were not running marathons because they said our wombs would fall out. “No matter what they say, until a real scientist says, ‘Yes, we did this carefully,’ I’m skeptical.”
‘I would expect more money with three-minute tours’
There are also widespread doubts about whether 12 three-minute rounds will help close the pay gap in boxing. Serrano’s paycheck, when she defended her featherweight title against Heather Hardy last August, is understood to be in the six to seven figures range, but the gender pay gap remains huge in a sport where women once struggled to be taken seriously.
“Amanda thinks three minutes would suit her style much better and believes there could be more pauses. “As an athlete, I don’t object to three-minute rounds,” says reigning WBA champion Terri Harper.
“If I had to do three-minute laps, I would expect a higher purse. I would expect to be charged more. But realistically, boxing, like all sports, is a business. Is women’s boxing in a position where we can get paid more?
“There is equal pay in tennis majors; Here, women perform best in three sets and men perform best in five sets. I know if I were a male tennis player I’d be like, ‘Why are these women getting paid the same as us to do less?’ “I would ask.”
Harper missed out on the opportunity to become unified light-middleweight champion last year after falling to a majority draw against Cecilia Braekhus. “It was a very boring fight,” she laughs. “Imagine if they had three-minute laps of this; they’d bore everyone to death.”
Serrano will defend her featherweight world title against Germany’s Nina Meinke in another contest on March 2 in 12 three-minute rounds.
The minute-long debates for female boxers will continue, but Serrano’s legacy in the sport is already secured as she continues to be a voice for female empowerment.