After more than seven hours in the ring, Andy Bowen and Jack Burke could no longer lift an arm.<\/p>\n
The stands at the Olympic Club in New Orleans thinned as the fight stretched to 110 rounds, each 3 minutes long with one-minute breaks in between. Midway through, Burke had broken both of his hands and relied on head movement, footwork and angles to avoid Bowen\u2019s punches.<\/p>\n
By the 108th round, referee John Duffy announced the fight would be stopped if no clear winner emerged in the next two rounds. When those rounds passed, Bowen and Burke were too dazed to leave their corners.<\/p>\n
\u201cGentlemen, this fight is off,\u201d Duffy said. \u201cI declare it no contest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The match in April 1893 \u2014 promoted as \u201cone of the greatest scientific events of the times\u201d \u2014 lasted from 9:15 p.m. to 4:41 a.m. the next day. More than a century later, it remains the longest gloved boxing match on record in the world, according to Guinness World Records<\/a>, a reminder that Louisiana\u2019s proud history of athletic\u00a0feats\u00a0extends beyond football.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Perhaps the New Orleans States-Item, a now-defunct newspaper, captured that legacy best in a 1938 column: \u201cThe New Orleans of today holds no more fame than the New Orleans of yesteryear. For it was here that some of the world\u2019s sport celebrities have performed.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Olympic Club was a New Orleans establishment that hosted prizefights in the Bywater.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n In the decades that followed the match, the Olympic Club in the Bywater continued to host prizefights until it\u00a0burned down in the late 19th century. New Orleans went on to produce several world champions, including Pete Herman and Tony Canzoneri. More recently, Regis Prograis<\/a> has claimed two world titles, and Tiffany Junot<\/a> became the city\u2019s first women\u2019s world boxing champion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Bowen, known as the \u201cLouisiana Tornado,\u201d remained one of the region\u2019s top fighters after his bout with Burke. A month later, he defeated Jack Everhardt in an 85-round match. The following year, Bowen died at 27 after being knocked unconscious by Kid Lavigne at the Olympic Club. Reports later linked his death to injuries sustained during the marathon fight.<\/p>\n The bout came decades before the condition now known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, was identified \u2014 first described as \u201cpunch-drunk syndrome\u201d in a 1928 study of boxers.<\/a> Linked to repeated blows to the head, the disease did not enter the national consciousness until the early 2000s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Today, the World Boxing Council limits professional fights to 12 rounds. But in 1883, there was no such restriction.<\/p>\n Bowen and Burke pushed the limits of human endurance, becoming a catalyst for modern safety regulations while leaving behind a fight that defined grit \u2014 and helped put New Orleans on the map in boxing history.<\/p>\n \u2018A good battle may be expected\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n In January 1983, the Olympic Club president sent a telegram to Burke, a Texas lightweight champion, inviting him to fight Bowen at 133 pounds, according to Times-Picayune reports. The winner would receive $2,000, while the losing fighter would be paid $500.<\/p>\n Burke accepted within a day.<\/p>\n He arrived in Bay St. Louis for training in February and frequently spoke with reporters during his preparation, predicting a quick victory over Bowen. Reports tended to favor Burke, noting his advantages in height and reach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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