Mayorga vs. Sirotkin: WBC Rejects Proposal For Silver Title

By The World Boxing Council

The WBC medical committee, in conjunction with the WBC affiliated championships committee, rejected the proposal from the WBC Silver championship committee to approve Ricardo Mayorga (32-9-1, 26 KOs) to contest for the WBC Silver super middleweight championship against Andre Sirotkin on November 3 in Russia.

While the WBC applauds the efforts of Mayorga to clean his life with the support of former champion Rosendo Alvarez, and even though Mayorga is reported to have successfully passed all medical examinations determined by the boxing authorities of Nicaragua, the WBC evaluates his boxing activity to be at high risk due to the following:

·      Age of the fighter: 44
·      Inactivity: He has only fought 8 times since losing his WBC title 11 years ago.
·      He has not defeated a fighter with a winning record since 2010.
·      His last 5 defeats have been by KO.
·      Rating: He is not rated in the WBC, and the ratings committee rejected the proposal to rate him to be eligible to compete for the silver title.
·      Weight: His ideal weight was welterweight and he was also champion at super welter. His last fight was at light heavyweight, and the proposed fight is at super middleweight.

The WBC notified the promotion of the WBC decision in due time, and the fight is scheduled on BoxRec.com for the WBA International title.

IN OTHER NEWS: Springfield, NJ - the first phase of The IBF Silk Road Championship Tournament started in Macau, China at the Wynn Palace on Friday, October 27 and will continue on October 28. The organization announced its plans in late May to launch the tournament and create the IBF Belt & Road Region, modeling the Silk Road Economic Belt & 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Chinese business initiative spanning through the Asian, African and European continents.

The Silk Road Championship tournament will begin with 14 bouts ranging from Flyweight to Middleweight featuring male and female fighters from various countries in the B&R Region.  IBF President Daryl Peoples noted, "The goal of this multinational tournament is to continue to stimulate the growth boxing in the region and provide a platform for fighters to develop their professional boxing careers by giving them additional opportunities to showcase their talents."

The IBF established the IBF B&R Region with the support of IBF Africa, IBF Asia, IBF China, IBF Europe and the Eurasian Boxing Parliament.  Highlighting the tournament is the 1st IBF B&R Regional Convention scheduled around the tournament with international attendees participating in various seminars and events. 

"The IBF is grateful to all involved in the creation of this exciting new initiative by the organization.  The idea was first received enthusiastically and the support to continue to develop the Silk Road Tournament and the IBF B&R Region continues to grow," added Mr. Peoples.