Quote Originally Posted by Weebels
#3 The significance of the fight should have no bearing on the interpretation of the rules. #4 And if the goal is make the sport more civilized to conform to the 21st century, well look around that ain't what is happening to its competition.
You want to conform to the 21st century, save it's reputation. And until fights can be seen by the public, the occasional observer as legitimate, and without outside influences. True or not that is a common belief of your average Joe. Why? Because a ref can stop a fight that doesn't seem to need stopping. (for example) We cant even do it with the Olympics,
#3: Of course there needs to be a difference. A ref needs to protect a fighter making his pro debut, more than a world rated veteran with 200+ pro rounds on his record.

#4: There is no direct rival to boxing. The nearest is wrestling/fighting; weather it is WWF or this new fad of faux fighting. Because these worked sports are not mainstream they deliberately try to be perceived as being brutal to sell it.

Boxing on the other hand is still just about mainstream, so needs to conform to the values of mainstream society, which means putting in better safety measures, as the sport tries to redeem its place as the Greatest sport in the world.