As most of you probably know already, combat sports events such as boxing can be very long, with the whole card lasting several hours. And if you are at a boxing event and wondering how long the card usually lasts (as well as typical start and end times), well then you’re in the right place. How long does a boxing event usually last?
A full boxing event usually lasts about 6.5 hours from start to finish usually going from 6:30pm – 1:00am (Eastern Time). The main event of the card is shorter (about 3.5 hours), lasting from 9:00pm – 1:00am when the event ends, usually consisting of four fights. The last fight of the night usually starts around 12:00am.
Most people only tune in for the main event, so chances are, you wanted to know when it starts and ends. As mentioned, you’d be looking at about three and a half hours’ worth of boxing matches.
However, the actual length of a card may vary depending on how many fights are scheduled, how many rounds they are scheduled for, and the attention surrounding the event.
Example Of Fight Card Length: Wilder v Fury 1
To find the full length of a boxing card, I took a look at a card that had a good amount of hype around it, Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury 1.
The full card featured a total of 11 bouts, with 4 on the main card and 7 on the undercard. As mentioned in the short answer above, the undercard started at 6:30pm, the main card started at 9:00pm, and the entire event ended at around 1:00am.
Although the fight was held in Los Angeles, the times listed are in the Eastern Time zone. The time of a fight usually depends on the location where it is held. Most US boxing matches are based on Eastern Time.
Below is a time zone map so that you can figure out the start time in your time zone. For example, if the fight is at 9:00pm Eastern Time, but you live in Texas (Central Time), then the fight for you will be at 8:00pm instead.
Of course, this applies to readers in other countries as well. Unfortunately for fans in Europe, this usually means staying up until 6:00am to watch a main event held in the United States.
So back to the Wilder vs Fury card.
The early matches were all 8 rounds or less, as expected. The number of rounds a boxing match goes is directly related to the experience of the boxers involved, so the early matches will always have less rounds, either 4, 6, or 8.
On the Wilder vs Fury undercard, only two of the seven fights were scheduled for 10 rounds or more. Matches of 10 rounds are usually reserved for more experienced boxers, while 12-round matches are reserved for Championship bouts.
Twelve-round bouts are usually reserved for title fights, such as the main event fight, Wilder vs Fury.
This is why the undercard can be shorter in length than the main card, as there are more fights, but each fight is shorter in length.
At 9:00pm, the main card starts.
For the Wilder v Fury main card, there are only 4 fights, which is pretty typical for a boxing event. Of those four, two fights were scheduled for 10 rounds, and the other two were for 12 rounds.
That means a schedule of 44 rounds, or 132 minutes of fight time. This explains why the main event of a card is so long. Of course, quick finishes and other factors can shorten the length of the card, such as Joe Joyce winning his main card fight in the first round (out of ten).
Joe Joyce (left) finishes Joe Hanks in the first round of their ten-round fight.
So if you’re watching only the main card of a boxing event, plan to watch about 3-4 hours worth of boxing.
The final fight of the Wilder v Fury card started at around 12:00am, and ended at around 1:00am.
That’s basically all there is to the length of a boxing card.
If there was something I left out of this post that you had questions about, feel free to email me at quinones.gerardo19@gmail.com.
If you liked the article, please consider checking out similar posts on the Martial Arts History page. Thanks for reading!