Andrew Cancio looks to continue to the feel good story of 2019, but doesn’t at all feel good about the manner in which he’s being passed over for an upgraded title status.
The dual-occupational 130-pound titlist—who holds a full time job with the Southern California Gas Company—is at the tail end of training camp for a Nov. 23 rematch with Rene Alvarado, which will mark his second attempted defense. The bout takes place in Indio, California, on the same night as will a 130-pound clash between now former three-division titlist Leo Santa Cruz and Miguel Flores at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Despite promised efforts to consolidate its number of titles, the World Boxing Association (WBA) continues to create a mess. As such, two separate WBA junior lightweight titles will be in play on the same night. Cancio will defend the “Regular” version, while the vacant “Super” title will be at stake in Santa Cruz’s bid to become a four division titlist.
"I think it's a bunch of B.S. I got the short end of the stick once again,” Cancio (21-4-2, 16KOs) noted during a recent open workout. “I'm not a big name to a lot of people like Leo Santa Cruz is. I feel like that's why they did it.”
The writing was on the wall long before terms were finalized for Cancio’s rematch with Nicaragua’s Alvarado (31-8, 20KOs). Unbeaten southpaw Gervonta Davis vacated his “Super” title earlier this summer in order to compete in the lightweight division, where he will vie for a vacant title in a Dec. 28 clash versus Yuriorkis Gamboa.
The natural order of progression, it would have seemed, would be to elevate Cancio to “Super” champion. In light of the general silliness that comes with all sanctioning bodies, such distinction would have allowed the first-year titlist to pursue title unification bouts. The other sanctioning bodies discourage the practice of allowing its champions to enter bouts with secondary titlists, which is among the reasons Cancio and his team were looking to upgrade its status, along with deserving the honor all along.
“We never had a chance,” Ray Chaparro, Cancio’s manager told BoxingScene.com of the process involved in the WBA allowing Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19KOs) to once again jump the line. “We were told a decision was going to be made and that we just had to accept it.”
It was a similar sequence as to how Santa Cruz landed such honors following his first win over Abner Mares in a vacant featherweight title fight more than four years ago. In the past, “Super” champion honors were reserved by the WBA for its titlists who unified titles or who made enough title defenses to serve as an organizational ambassador.
However, a different course of action was taken in freeing up the 130-pound title.
The honor was first bestowed upon Takashi Uchiyama, who’d held a WBA title since 2010 and who was among the first to be named “Super” champion in 2015, surrounding his 10th successful title defense—a 2nd round knockout of Jomthong Chuwatana. His reign would extend one more fight and win before running into Jezreel Corrales, who scored a stunning 2nd round stoppage of the previously unbeaten champ from Japan in April 2016. Corrales scored a repeat win later that New Year’s Eve and would carry the “Super” champion label into a technical decision win over Robinson Castellanos in July 2015.
His title reign would end at the scales, badly missing weight for an Oct. 2015 clash with Machado who remained eligible for the title which would otherwise have been declared vacant had Corrales won.
Machado won the bout by 8th round knockout, but somehow left the ring as the “Regular” champion. Such distinction wasn’t advertised until Davis faced former featherweight titlist Jesus Cuellar the following April in a bout specifically billed as a vacant WBA “Super” 130-pound title fight.
It was a fate begrudgingly accepted by Machado for the duration of the reign, as well as Cancio after each of his two wins over the lean Puerto Rican knockout artist. The hope for the WBA to do the right thing following Davis’ divisional exit proved futile.
The working class hero does, however, have a sensible solution.
“Machado, his belt got taken away because he was super champion and they gave it to Gervonta "Tank" Davis,” notes Cancio. “So, if I come out victorious Nov. 23 and if Leo comes out victorious Nov. 23, that's a fight I definitely want to make. I feel like I'm the bigger, stronger 130-pound guy. I feel like his style and my style will clash for a good fight, but I think he's going to realize the difference at 130 pounds."
If he does see the difference, it’s still a view that Santa Cruz—and not Cancio-will enjoy from the top of the mountain.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
