Boxing seems to have very little unified champions right now? For example, the Super Lightweight/Light Welterweight champions have all won their titles via vacant belts and we have to hope they all fight each other to determine the real #1 in the division which looks likely barring Cuenca's team and their goals.
Unified champions only exist in four divisions now. Is unifying important or are the belts just ways to spread out the money in the sport? Or is unification fights only important in certain conditions?
Heavyweight: Wladimir Klitschko (WBA, IBF, WBO)
Light Heavyweight: Sergey Kovalev (IBF, WBO, WBA)
Super Bantamweight: Guillermo Rigondeaux(WBO, WBA)
Flyweight: Juan Francisco Estrada (WBA, WBO)
WBA has a bunch of interim titlists.
WBO recently had an interim titlists for Featherweight and I also think Bradley's title against Vargas was interim at first but there's a whole fiasco going on there.
WBC has Diamond Champion Kovalev and Interim Champion Golovkinm, not aware of any other belts
IBF doesn't have any but used an interim to fill in a vacancy for a year+ long injury but Hernandez should be scheduled to reclaim his belt.
Championships or unified,,, it means nothing
Only WLAD has really reigned..
Estrada and Kovolev have beaten no real champs, just a bunch of paper champs
There are too many alphabet groups and they often discourage unification title fights. GGG is trying to unify 160 but he can't get some of the other 160lb champions to fight him so it's an uphill battle. If a boxer beat a unified champ he becomes a unified champ. That is not so hard to do if he is good enough to beat the champ. If there are 4 different champions in a boxer's weight class Then getting all the belts is extremely difficult.
Boxing seems to have very little unified champions right now? For example, the Super Lightweight/Light Welterweight champions have all won their titles via vacant belts and we have to hope they all fight each other to determine the real #1 in the division which looks likely barring Cuenca's team and their goals.
Unified champions only exist in four divisions now. Is unifying important or are the belts just ways to spread out the money in the sport? Or is unification fights only important in certain conditions?
Heavyweight: Wladimir Klitschko (WBA, IBF, WBO)
Light Heavyweight: Sergey Kovalev (IBF, WBO, WBA)
Super Bantamweight: Guillermo Rigondeaux(WBO, WBA)
Flyweight: Juan Francisco Estrada (WBA, WBO)
Quick correction: a unified champion is generally expected to be a titleholder with the WBC/WBA/IBF belts (WBO has only been in existence since 1988, with a reputation to reflect that). As those organizations continue to work towards unifying their rules (respecting each others mandatory challengers, encouraging unification fights, etc), more unified champions will occur; note that the WBO has refused to be a part of the process.
Wilder/Klitschko is being angled to by everyone, as is Kovalev/Stevenson (sans HBO/Duva). Mayweather retiring and Danny Garcia moving up has basically thrown three weight classes into flux, but things should settle back down in due time (WBC/WBA/IBF titles for those classes not being impeded).
and estrada didn't even unify.
viloria did.
estrada got both belts from viloria.
Its all good Estrada beat the crap out of the Hawaiian Punching bag and then KO Tyson who was the former title holder.
Boxing seems to have very little unified champions right now? For example, the Super Lightweight/Light Welterweight champions have all won their titles via vacant belts and we have to hope they all fight each other to determine the real #1 in the division which looks likely barring Cuenca's team and their goals.
Unified champions only exist in four divisions now. Is unifying important or are the belts just ways to spread out the money in the sport? Or is unification fights only important in certain conditions?
Heavyweight: Wladimir Klitschko (WBA, IBF, WBO)
Light Heavyweight: Sergey Kovalev (IBF, WBO, WBA)
Super Bantamweight: Guillermo Rigondeaux(WBO, WBA)
Flyweight: Juan Francisco Estrada (WBA, WBO)
and estrada didn't even unify.
viloria did.
estrada got both belts from viloria.
You have to remember that Danny Garcia just recently vacated his titles and moved up and Floyd just retired. If you factored them in thats 3 more weight classes with unified champs, making a total of 7 total weight classes with unified champs. We'll get unified champs in those weight classes soon enough.
Good point
You have to remember that Danny Garcia just recently vacated his titles and moved up and Floyd just retired. If you factored them in thats 3 more weight classes with unified champs, making a total of 7 total weight classes with unified champs. We'll get unified champs in those weight classes soon enough.