Page 1 of 1
Longest ever fight...
Posted: 28 Oct 2011, 19:07
by JDC
... in history?
I've seen many fights (by way of record) from pre-war era get into a huge number of rounds. Some of these ended in draws and the guys didn't even get paid.
Whats the longest known recorded bout?
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 28 Oct 2011, 19:51
by raylawpc
April 6, 1893: Andy Bowen v. Jack Burke at the Olympic Club, New Orleans, LA Result: NC 110. The fight lasted 110 rounds, and it took 7 hours and 19 mins until referee John Duffy called "no contest" after both men were too dazed and tired to come out of their corners.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 28 Oct 2011, 19:56
by JDC
Wow, the poor guys should at least have got a draw. Thank you

Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 28 Oct 2011, 21:17
by raylawpc
The record is fuzzy. According to one account I read, Duffy called it a "no contest," but changed it to a draw the next day. Boxrec and (am I allowed to say it?) cyberboxing list it as a "no contest" on Bowen's record If memory serves, so did the old Ring Record Book.
Talk about a tough man - Andy Bowen boxed an 85-round fight less than two months later that he won on a stoppage.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 28 Oct 2011, 23:21
by yancey
raylawpc wrote:April 6, 1893: Andy Bowen v. Jack Burke at the Olympic Club, New Orleans, LA Result: NC 110. The fight lasted 110 rounds, and it took 7 hours and 19 mins until referee John Duffy called "no contest" after both men were too dazed and tired to come out of their corners.
A bit off topic, but one wall of the Olympic Club is supposed to still be standing and I sure would like to stand next to it one day when I'm in New Orleans. Years ago there was an article in a Baton Rouge newspaper describing the exact location. I clipped the article and have it somewhere.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 29 Oct 2011, 00:15
by raylawpc
The Olympic Club was located at 3000 Royal Street (present address), and the lot is bounded by Chartres and Royal, Montegut and Clouet Streets. The building presently there is an art studio. The Olympic Club moved sometime in the 1920s.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 29 Oct 2011, 04:02
by Senya13
raylawpc wrote:The record is fuzzy. According to one account I read, Duffy called it a "no contest," but changed it to a draw the next day. Boxrec and (am I allowed to say it?) cyberboxing list it as a "no contest" on Bowen's record If memory serves, so did the old Ring Record Book.
A "no contest" according to next day reports in local
Daily Picayune and
Daily Item, and a further write-up in
Picayune about the club approving that decision.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 04 Nov 2011, 12:00
by JDC
...but there's only 270 minuites in 4.5 hours.
Were they 50 seconds and 10 second break?
Or a continuous fight?
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 04 Nov 2011, 12:20
by raylawpc
JDC wrote:...but there's only 270 minuites in 4.5 hours.
Were they 50 seconds and 10 second break?
Or a continuous fight?
It was fought under Broughton's Rules. A round lasted until one of the combatants was dropped by a punch, or thrown to the ground by his opponent. (Yes, grappling with hands above the waist was permitted.) Then, the men got a 30-second rest, and had to return to the center of the ring within that time. When a man failed to come up to "scratch" (a square marked in the center of the ring) within that limit, he was deemed the loser. Thus, there was no time limit to the rounds, only the period between rounds. That's how you could squeeze 276 rounds into 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 05 Nov 2011, 15:53
by JDC
Thank you. What is the name of the rules which Travellers fight under?
The rounds/ knockdown breaks seem similar to Broughton's Rules, but with no grappling.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 06 Nov 2011, 13:53
by BoxBuzz
All interesting......what combatant sports would compete with boxing for "longest conflict"? Specifically within person to person combat. Just wondering if a Sumo match might have lasted for days...(as they would be likely to want to break for snacks and a nap and such.)...
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 18 Nov 2011, 17:05
by Ambling Alp
raylawpc wrote:JDC wrote:...but there's only 270 minuites in 4.5 hours.
Were they 50 seconds and 10 second break?
Or a continuous fight?
It was fought under Broughton's Rules. A round lasted until one of the combatants was dropped by a punch, or thrown to the ground by his opponent. (Yes, grappling with hands above the waist was permitted.) Then, the men got a 30-second rest, and had to return to the center of the ring within that time. When a man failed to come up to "scratch" (a square marked in the center of the ring) within that limit, he was deemed the loser. Thus, there was no time limit to the rounds, only the period between rounds. That's how you could squeeze 276 rounds into 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Was it actually under the London Prize Rules? Were there still fights under the Broughton Rules by this date?
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 18 Nov 2011, 20:35
by raylawpc
Ambling Alp wrote:raylawpc wrote:JDC wrote:...but there's only 270 minuites in 4.5 hours.
Were they 50 seconds and 10 second break?
Or a continuous fight?
It was fought under Broughton's Rules. A round lasted until one of the combatants was dropped by a punch, or thrown to the ground by his opponent. (Yes, grappling with hands above the waist was permitted.) Then, the men got a 30-second rest, and had to return to the center of the ring within that time. When a man failed to come up to "scratch" (a square marked in the center of the ring) within that limit, he was deemed the loser. Thus, there was no time limit to the rounds, only the period between rounds. That's how you could squeeze 276 rounds into 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Was it actually under the London Prize Rules? Were there still fights under the Broughton Rules by this date?
The London Prize Ring Rules were first promulgated in 1838. They were later revised in 1853. This fight was under Broughton's Rules.
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 19 Nov 2011, 12:04
by Ambling Alp
I guess I never looked at this that closely. So bascially it was Broughton Rules starting in 1743. London Prrize Rules starting in 1838. Marquis of Queensberry in 1865.
As raylaw mentioned The Jones-Tunney fight was in 1825 so it had to have been Broughton Rules.
There was some overlap with the London Prize Rules and the Marquis of Queensberry Rules.
What about Broughton Rules? How long after 1838 were they commonly used?
Re: Longest ever fight...
Posted: 19 Nov 2011, 14:08
by raylawpc
Ambling Alp wrote:I guess I never looked at this that closely. So bascially it was Broughton Rules starting in 1743. London Prrize Rules starting in 1838. Marquis of Queensberry in 1865.
As raylaw mentioned The Jones-Tunney fight was in 1825 so it had to have been Broughton Rules.
There was some overlap with the London Prize Rules and the Marquis of Queensberry Rules.
What about Broughton Rules? How long after 1838 were they commonly used?
No idea, Senya13 might know. The London Prize Ring Rules were pretty similar to the Broughton Rules.