By Miguel Rivera
The Executive Director of the World Boxing Association, Gilberto Mendoza, has promised to sort out the situation with their titles at 154-pounds. On April 20th, WBA "regular" champion Austin Trout will defend his belt against WBC champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in a unification encounter. The winner, pursuant to the WBA's rules, will be recognized as the "super champion" because the boxer will hold more than one major championship. There is only one problem, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is already recognized as the WBA's "super champion" at 154; a title the boxer won last May from Miguel Cotto.
Mendoza wants to speak with Mayweather or his handlers, to determine if the boxer even plans to defend his belt in the coming months. If not, then Mayweather will be stripped and then the Canelo-Trout winner will be the only WBA "super champion." If Mayweather does plan to defend the belt, then there could be a situation where the WBA orders the two "super champions" to face each other. Mayweather's next fight is at welterweight, where he defends the WBC title against Robert Guerrero on May 4th.
"The regular champion is Austin Trout and Mayweather Jr. is the super champion. We are reviewing the situation and plan to find out if Mayweather Jr. intends to continue as the super champion. We are also willing to accept a request for a special permit so he can make his defense [on May 4], but we have not received such a request," Mendoza said.
