If being a world champion truly matters to a fighter...

But then they get stripped of those belts for ridiculous reasons, and when they try to unify the organizations strip them for not fighting mandatories, or a fighter wins the belt but can't pay the sanctioning fees and doesn't actually get it, I mean why bother? Just fight the best opposition and if that fighter has a belt, cool. If not, so what? The corruption can be pointed out as well as some of the fruitlessness to it, at times, but what elite fighter is talking about fighting anyone without a belt? Mares and Rigo are talking about fighting Donaire, Donaire is about to fight Math. Amir Khan is about to fight Danny Garcia but is eyeing Mayweather. Pacquiao is eyeing Bradley, Marquez and Mayweather. Mayweather is eyeing Khan (who can't lose to Garcia so he'd have the WBC), Alvarez and Martinez. Martinez is eyeing Chavez Jr. Ward is about to fight Dawson. A belt MUST mean something to even the greatest of fighters. Unifying removes the number of options to get those belts so fighters MUST go through you. That, imo, makes someone the man to beat. Though my opinion is always humbly. LoL.

Yes, being the undisputed world champ is another level of bad ass...

The belts can't mean nothing anymore when every fighter of note has one (aside from Pacquiao) and every fighter coming up wants one. Mayweather is supposedly beyond needing belts but paid the fees for the WBC belt to be put on the line against Ortiz AND the WBA belt to be put on the line against Cotto. Even if the belts are just for accomplishments to be added to their legacies, unifying has always been a big deal among even the purist of boxing fans due to the want for the belts to stand for something again. But then they get stripped of those belts for ridiculous reasons, and when they try to unify the organizations strip them for not fighting mandatories, or a fighter wins the belt but can't pay the sanctioning fees and doesn't actually get it, I mean why bother? Just fight the best opposition and if that fighter has a belt, cool. If not, so what?

Agreed. Zab fight was signed prior to zab/baldo. Point is floyd unified ww titles already. I just think you should point that out. If you want him to do it again, ok. I see what you're saying.

I can't believe you were the first person to say this. This should have been the first post in the thread. Even when fighters do try to unify, the sanctioning bodies prevent it. Unifying is pointless, because belts mean nothing anymore. The belts can't mean nothing anymore when every fighter of note has one (aside from Pacquiao) and every fighter coming up wants one. Mayweather is supposedly beyond needing belts but paid the fees for the WBC belt to be put on the line against Ortiz AND the WBA belt to be put on the line against Cotto. Even if the belts are just for accomplishments to be added to their legacies, unifying has always been a big deal among even the purist of boxing fans due to the want for the belts to stand for something again.

The IBF wasn't being defended only because Baldomir didn't pay the sanctioning fee for the belt or some such. Floyd was already ready to fight Judah so he went ahead with the fight and, of course, was criticized for the decision to fight Judah so he ended up dropping his belt and fighting the, now, lineal champion at welterweight in Baldomir. Agreed. Zab fight was signed prior to zab/baldo. Point is floyd unified ww titles already. I just think you should point that out. If you want him to do it again, ok.

Belt wasn't tainted. Zab lost to Baldo, but IBF wasn't being defended. Floyd beat baldo for WBA/WBC belts then beat zab for the IBF belt. WBO belt isn't significant back then. The IBF wasn't being defended only because Baldomir didn't pay the sanctioning fee for the belt or some such. Floyd was already ready to fight Judah so he went ahead with the fight and, of course, was criticized for the decision to fight Judah so he ended up dropping his belt and fighting the, now, lineal champion at welterweight in Baldomir.

Unifying is retarded. It's near impossible with the sanctioning body politics. And most of the times the belt holders aren't the best or the most proven of the division. I can't believe you were the first person to say this. This should have been the first post in the thread. Even when fighters do try to unify, the sanctioning bodies prevent it. Unifying is pointless, because belts mean nothing anymore.

If I recall correctly, he dropped the belt he beat out of Judah right after he received it. It was tainted. In fact, I think Judah was the last person to hold three of the four significant belts at welterweight when he knocked the WBC, WBA and IBF belts out of Spinks. The WBO was the only one he lacked. Belt wasn't tainted. Zab lost to Baldo, but IBF wasn't being defended. Floyd beat baldo for WBA/WBC belts then beat zab for the IBF belt. WBO belt isn't significant back then.

Reminder, floyd unified all belts once, after he beat baldo and zab. If I recall correctly, he dropped the belt he beat out of Judah right after he received it. It was tainted. In fact, I think Judah was the last person to hold three of the four significant belts at welterweight when he knocked the WBC, WBA and IBF belts out of Spinks. The WBO was the only one he lacked.

We have multiple belts due to multiple organizations being able to make money off said belt so, as someone that acknowledges that boxing is also a very, very profitable business, I can't say there should only be one belt. One belt also makes it a possibility that deserving fighters may never get their chance. Four belts having different rankings and, thus, different mandatories has its upside in that regard. We can say that the sanctioning bodies don't want this or that but we have a concrete example of a fighter that makes in work in Wladimir. There are several other fighters that could also make it work but just choose not to. Mayweather and Pacquiao could have already made it work. There have been multiple worldwide accepted talents that chose not to gather all the recognized belts. I also see that the belt organizations aren't even hiding their corruption anymore but few champions are even trying nowadays so I whole-heartedly support Donaire's current quest. If he succeeds, he could have three belts within a year's time and he would be a talented fighter with a modest fanbase that reaffirms the faith of fighters and fans that it can work at the lower weights. Btw, I don't think Dawson beating Hopkins, who beat Pascal, who beat Dawson, makes Dawson THE MAN at 175. He's leaving the weight without even trying to meet Cloud,Campillo, Cleverly or even Pascal WHO BEAT HIM AT THE WEIGHT. Reminder, floyd unified all belts once, after he beat baldo and zab.

We have multiple belts due to multiple organizations being able to make money off said belt so, as someone that acknowledges that boxing is also a very, very profitable business, I can't say there should only be one belt. One belt also makes it a possibility that deserving fighters may never get their chance. Four belts having different rankings and, thus, different mandatories has its upside in that regard. We can say that the sanctioning bodies don't want this or that but we have a concrete example of a fighter that makes in work in Wladimir. There are several other fighters that could also make it work but just choose not to. Mayweather and Pacquiao could have already made it work. There have been multiple worldwide accepted talents that chose not to gather all the recognized belts. I also see that the belt organizations aren't even hiding their corruption anymore but few champions are even trying nowadays so I whole-heartedly support Donaire's current quest. If he succeeds, he could have three belts within a year's time and he would be a talented fighter with a modest fanbase that reaffirms the faith of fighters and fans that it can work at the lower weights. Btw, I don't think Dawson beating Hopkins, who beat Pascal, who beat Dawson, makes Dawson THE MAN at 175. He's leaving the weight without even trying to meet Cloud,Campillo, Cleverly or even Pascal WHO BEAT HIM AT THE WEIGHT.

Good tread/idea. But that's the problem with boxing today. The belt organization & promoters have turned boxing into a business 1st, sport second. Which is why I'm glad that Bradley & Devon stepped up to 147. Both were unified champion & Devon is going after his strap next. Watch, these boys along with Paulie & the new guys are gonna bring prestige back to welterweight which has been held hostage by Floyd & Pacman for far too long. Bush, at what point in the sport's history was professional boxing not a business?

Unifying is retarded. It's near impossible with the sanctioning body politics. And most of the times the belt holders aren't the best or the most proven of the division. Plus they don't want to fight each other most the time

If promoters had less influence on world ranking and title fights I'd agree. I started watching boxing when there was only the WBC and WBA. I think getting rid of the IBO, WBO, IBF, and any other fringe sanctioning bodies controlled by promoters wouand just having 2 major sanctioning bodies would help!

...he should seek to unify. I believe and will support that 100%. That is why I will never talk down about the Klitschko brothers or chime in with any negativity when they are talked about. I came up at a time where being the heavyweight champion meant you were THE champion and I'm proud that they seem to think the same way. Andre Ward should seek to unify while he takes these long breaks between fights (Balzsay, Froch and Stieglitz are all winnable fights), Floyd Mayweather should seek to unify as he points out he doesn't want to face ALL lions (Malignaggi, Bradley and Bailey/ Alexander would all die to get beat on by him) and, now, Donaire coming along seeking, at least, the belts held by Mares and Mathebula, I say forget anyone who criticizes him. For boxing, worldwide, we need this. We need one holder of multiple belts that we, as fans, can point to as being THE man of that division. It hurts universal knowledge of the sport to have a champion in Africa few outside of Africa have seen, one in England, Germany, Japan, Mexico, etc. that all prefer only to fight in their country because they didn't have to leave to become a world champion. This also applies to all these champions in the United States that refuse to travel elsewhere to bring that belt back to where they feel it belongs. What type of world champion wants FOUR other fighters to be able to have a legit reason to call themselves the same exact thing? Public opinion being what separates fighters isn't enough when the same fighters know that one punch can change everything around. I agree with most of what you said except the bold. Andre Ward has proven he is the best at 168. You don't need to have a collection of BS titles to prove anything. All titles do is give you a reason to be granted the lion's share of the purse. So in Andre Ward's case, the fact that he is NOT on a quest to unify speaks louder about his status as Champion. He's the man there; you know it, I know it, everyone here knows it. That is all that matters. Now he is taking on THE MAN at the division above, albeit, at 168. But Andre was challenged and he responded. Probably gonna be a sh*tty fight, but he is fighting the best. As for Floyd, he has accomplished a lot in this sport. And while I am of the school of thought that you should never be satisfied with your legacy while you are still building it, it seems as if he is fine if he was to never fight again. He's in it for the paychecks, and to keep the "0" in the loss column. Unifying for Floyd would just mean, he is fighting Bradley (who shouldn't have that title) Malignaggi, whom I respect a lot and who went and TOOK that title, like a champion, is still Malignaggi at the end of the day and we know who he is, and what he can and can't do in the ring. Pointless fight. And then Randall Bailey, which I'm not even going to touch on. We need ONE holder of ONE belt. Everybody knows who the best is and as long as they are fighting each other, belts mean nothing in terms of championship status.

Unifying is retarded. It's near impossible with the sanctioning body politics. And most of the times the belt holders aren't the best or the most proven of the division.

This is what should happen but champions of today would rather take an easy fight and look good than fight each other avoiding mandatorys or promoters not working together to get fights the fans want to see made.

You can't unify if the governing body won't let you! You need to learn how the boxing business works. Fighters and managers don't have the final say who fights who! Put together 40 million and start your own federation then you can have YOUR champions. W.B.D World Boxing of Disneyland! :friday: Ray.

Good tread/idea. But that's the problem with boxing today. The belt organization & promoters have turned boxing into a business 1st, sport second. Which is why I'm glad that Bradley & Devon stepped up to 147. Both were unified champion & Devon is going after his strap next. Watch, these boys along with Paulie & the new guys are gonna bring prestige back to welterweight which has been held hostage by Floyd & Pacman for far too long.