Amanda Serrano, who headlines at Madison Square Garden against Katie Taylor next month, is the latest to call for women to box three-minute rounds.
That a title fight between two women is top of the bill at the old boxing Mecca is a sign of how far the sport has come.
But if we are going to talk about equality, it is an insult to women to restrict fights to ten, two-minute rounds. The inference is women are not physically capable of doing three. I’m sorry. That’s just wrong.
The demand and the risk is the same for both sexes. And the reality is women want three-minute rounds, as is the case at the Olympics and amateur world championships.
Not only are they physically capable, it would make for better fights. Two-minute rounds change the nature and structure of bouts. It is difficult to plan or develop a strategy. Restricted rounds have a totally different rhythm.
Women are fighting for space in this sport. Equality is at the heart of it. As things stand the rules send the wrong message. Women are either boxers or they are not. If they are, they should box according to the same rules.
The alternative is to say they are not up to the task, which runs counter to my experience.
Ellie Scotney has had three fights so far. She turned over at the start of Covid so things stalled, but she is looking sensational in the gym.
Technically she is exceptional. She has great balance, puts her punches together well, fires off great combinations and likes to be aggressive, going to the body.
She is up against Argentina’s Jorgelina Guanini at Alexandra Palace this weekend. Guanini held a world title at super flyweight.
This match is at super bantamweight and the contest offers a solid test for a 23-year-old in a hurry.
If she wins convincingly she can expect to be fighting for a world title later this year. Scotney spars a lot with Caroline Dubois as well as the boys in the gym.
She is tough, strong and works every bit as hard as the boys. She has a great personality with a razor sharp sense of humour.
And she would rather fight three minute rounds. The governing bodies have to listen to the women. The fights would improve and the sport as a consequence.
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People are going to see a lot of this girl over the next couple of years, and a lot more of women’s boxing.
It is time to set them free, to give them the respect and the equality they deserve.
- Follow Barry on Twitter at @ClonesCyclone @McGuigans_Gym
