As you may or may not know, women boxers fight for a maximum of ten two-minute rounds. After “some authorities” floated the idea of three-minute rounds, the WBC stepped in to make fools of themselves with an asinine press release.

Here’s the bulk of it:

"We sadly see some boxing jurisdictions take steps backwards and make decisions that can only haunt them and put our athletes in serious jeopardy. It has been reported that the U.K. will allow women to fight three-minute rounds! "In a separate report, we will share what has been studied through medical research for years, which was also presented in the WBC's two female boxing world conventions. There is an easy formula: dehydration + fatigue + strong punch = possible tragedy. "The WBC will never allow three-minute rounds, and will never allow any fight over 10 rounds. That will limit the dehydration and the fatigue elements to lower as much as possible the risk to a tragedy."

This is not only insulting, it’s flat-out stupid. Yes, dehydration and fatigue are an issue; it’s why we don’t have fifteen-rounders anymore. But to suggest that women physically can’t handle more than twenty minutes of combat with nine minutes of rest is demonstrably false.

The three most active strikers in the UFC, by strikes landed per minute, are all women. Number six, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, regularly offers ludicrous volume for 25 minutes with only four minutes of rest.

Are all women that adept in cardio? Of course not, but this is the sport that booked Butterbean for ten rounds against Larry Holmes. Jean Pascal fights for about 90 seconds per round. This is not an issue of sexual dimorphism.

Women’s combat sports are at their biggest in ages. Boxing has stars like Katie Taylor, Nicola Adams, and Claressa Shields with amazing futures ahead of them. Even with the fall of Rousey, MMA has charismatic figures like Michelle Waterson and Joanna Jedrzejczyk carrying the torch. For the WBC to put out this pearl-clutching nonsense about having to protect them is infuriating.

These are professional athletes who have dedicated themselves to one of the most punishing sports in existence. “Possible tragedy” might as well be its subtitle. Don’t insult them.