By GM Ross: Two minute round boxing matches are a contentious issue right now in Canada, particularly in the province of New Brunswick. Some fans have told me “they do it in England, so why not in Canada?” Others are dead set against it. Before providing my opinion on this issue, I thought it might be insightful to contact a few of the nation’s prominent boxing figures to get their views on these fights.
TSN analyst Russ Anber, Canadian Professional Boxing Council (CPBC) President Don Collette and National Championship Committee (NCC) member Ed Pearson were all kind enough to weigh in on this issue and, in the case of Pearson and Collette, explain their respective groups’ position on two minute round fights.
TSN’s Russ Anber is not in favour of two minute rounds in professional contests, but believes that under some circumstances this type of contest might be necessary. “I think legitimate, professional contests should be three minute rounds and I think it should be clearly noted when a guy doesn’t fight three minute rounds. That’s the rule that makes professional boxing, professional boxing – you fight three minute rounds.” If a region is lacking in trained competitors, however, Anber stated, “I can’t say I necessarily object to people maybe fulfilling a need, because that’s the caliber they’re dealing with and they [the boxers] can only handle two minute rounds. If the fans still support it and if the fighters are doing it, and it’s not being imposed against their will, I have no problem with that.” That being said, Mr. Anber reiterated, “I think a professional contest should be three minute rounds and never less than four rounds.”
CPBC President Don Collette considers two minute round bouts outside the realm of professional competition. “The CPBC does not support or recognize two minute round bouts as professional boxing contests. We are firm on this. Our rating criterion is three professional fights of three minute rounds. Once a fighter has accomplished this, they are reviewed by the CPBC and entered into the rankings at our discretion.” Participation in two minute round contests, therefore, will slow down a fighter’s progression through the rankings and potentially prevent opportunities to fight for CPBC titles.
Ed Pearson of the National Championship Committee (NCC) explained why two minute round contests are included in the NCC rankings. “If a two minute round fight is sanctioned by a commission, legally established and authorized to regulate boxing in a jurisdiction, we have no choice but to consider his record as part of our rankings.” Pearson noted that these fights are not uncommon in other countries, stating that “two minute rounds are being used extensively around the world now for novice boxers and Fightfax recognizes these fights and puts them in the official record of the boxers.” That being said, Pearson believes that experience gained through two minute fights needs to be acknowledged and taken into consideration when it comes time to rank a fighter. “[Chris] Norrad has the equivalent of twenty-two three minute rounds of experience, if you tally up all his minutes of boxing and divide by three. You can’t discount that experience because you think that boxing ought to be fought exclusively by three minute rounds.” When it comes time for the NCC to arrange a title shot, however, Pearson didn’t think two minute round fights would get someone very far. “In approving a title match, the NCC would look at his experience in three minute round fights…in order to ascertain if he is capable of going a full 10×3 minute round fight, which our title fights are. If, in the opinion of the NCC, he does not have enough three minute round experience, he won’t be challenging for our title.” Pearson continued, “I’d suggest he’d have to have a couple more 6×3 fights in order to qualify and prove he has the stamina to step beyond that. We would do this due diligence on any boxer.”
As for me, I’m dead set against it. If you want to be a professional boxer, get down to serious training and prepare for a three minute round fight. Two minute rounds change the whole dynamic of the fight, interrupting the professional pattern of action and rest. These men are fighting amateur contests with the headgear off and a round tacked on. I was informed recently that New Generation Productions (NGP) – the group holding the two minute round contests – will be holding switching to three minute rounds for their August 6 show in Shediac, New Brunswick. This is a huge step in the right direction, opening doors to fights with boxers from outside the province. With a few more three minute round fights, we may start to see NGP boxers like Julien Collette, Travis Connors and Chris Norrad climbing their way up the Canadian rankings. Who knows, they could even challenge for a title one day – but they need to fight the traditional, professional way.