133 years ago, on April 6, 1893, Andy Bowen and Jack Burke stepped into the ring in New Orleans and unknowingly etched their names into boxing history, fighting the longest recorded bout the sport has ever seen. What began as a late replacement - Burke stepping in after Bowen’s original opponent withdrew - turned into a grueling endurance test that lasted 110 rounds over seven hours and 19 minutes.
The fight, held at the Olympic Club, stretched deep into the early hours of April 7, with neither man able to gain a decisive advantage, as reports from the time described exhausted spectators falling asleep in their seats as the bout dragged on.
By the 108th round, referee John Duffy warned that if no winner emerged within two more rounds, the fight would be stopped. When both fighters, battered and exhausted, failed to come out of their corners, Duffy declared the bout a no contest. Burke had fought through the later stages with both hands broken, which left him bedridden for six weeks afterward.
The fight remains a stark reminder of boxing’s brutal past, long before modern safety regulations. Just a year later, Bowen would die at the age of 27 following another fight at the same venue.
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