One world, one champion!
What you're proposing has been tried for decades and it only made things worse.
We only have four world champions because attempt to "ignore" the titles just made it easier to create more of them.
The real solution is to be honest about the championships and to hold everyone accountable.
There are four recognized world championships in boxing. The WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO. These are the organizations that recognize each other. These are the organizations the promoters, networks, fighters and managers recognize.
Trying to add lineal champions, magazine champions or anything else just makes things even worse. We shouldn't be adding mythical titles, we should be deleting official titles.
If four is too many, stop recognizing the WBO. Now we're back to three. It would be a huge improvement.
If the WBA doesn't stop crowning multiple world champions in the same division, stop recognizing the WBA. Now we're back to two. It would be a huge improvement.
The WBC and IBF are clearly the most credible titles in boxing. For different reasons. The WBC caters to the biggest stars, the IBF treats everyone the fairest regardless of whether you're a big star.
If we could get down to two titles per division, it would improve things immensely. Even getting down to three titles would be a big help.
But somebody has to be in charge. Someone has to mediate between the warring promoters. Someone has to rank the fighters. Someone has to order eliminators. Someone has to enforce title shots. The organizations exist for a reason. The problem is that there are too many of them, and there are too many of them because fans & media trying to "ignore" them made it soooooo easy to create more of them.
Great assessment, and rundown. It just shows the low standards that has been set by promoters and the media who scatter the term "world champion" around like confetti. Last time I checked, there is only one world!
A totally misleading post! This has been written as if it is for the World Middleweight Title, pure and simple. No wonder the casual fan just shake their heads. Correction is required. This fight is merely a fight between contenders. Golovkin is World Champion.
Mario Veit, stopped in one round, by JC, was the only boxer Joe fought twice. Calzaghe didn't seem to relish rematches with opponents he won disputed decisions over like Reid and Hopkins.
DLH open letter to Mayweather
A knockout of a letter from Oscar. Boxing can breathe again now that Floyd has deigned to depart the scene. Please, please make the retirement permanent.
Truth behind Clay/Cooper came out many years ago. Ripped glove was not changed. Padding can clearly be seen coming out of the glove as Clay hit Cooper in the fifth. Angelo Dundee embellished the incident, with the sticking his finger etc to make himself out to be a sharp operator. The minute rest between 4 and 5 was at most an extra 5 seconds, at most , not the 2 or 3 minutes so often, wrongly quoted. I have the original radio commentary transmitted on the BBC.
Have a gloved ever ripped during a ring
mind uploading it for us?
Wish I could. It is on a reel to reel tape that I have been waiting for a friend to convert onto disc. I'll paraphrase what the commentator said between 4 and 5 ; Oh no one of Clay's gloves is damaged, what a pity for Cooper if there is a delay.(seconds later, he said) it's all right they're not going to change them. Then the fifth began and the horsehair padding could be seen flying out as Clay lathered Cooper to end the fight.
Bellew's learned anatomical knowledge!
At lest he knows where the head is situated, but do we really need such idiotic comments like these while boxing is under fire following recent tragic events. Grow up Tony and try to avoid giving the anti - boxing brigade, yet more ammunition.
Mayweather might as well claim the 50 - 0 after beating Connor who? After all, Marciano actually lost to Coley Wallace during his pro career, yet he is listed as having a 49 - 0 record!
Ward, for me, as the best. Years of watching Calzaghe fighting nondescripts in wbo bouts, left me jaded. Then came the overblown win over Lacy, who was totally unproven. Lacy would have been outclassed or kayoed by the others on the list. Froch’s stoppage over Bute, was a more impressive result.
Excellent article, chronicling Turpin’s life. Must hold the greatest single win in British boxing history with his win over Robinson. Certainly had a violent, out of the ring side to him, in keeping with so many, throughout the division’s history.
Two Liams
Smith questions if Williams is ready to step up to world level. Well he wont be, in this fight. World level is Lara, Andrade, Alvarez and the Charlo brothers. LS is delusional if he thinks he belongs in their company. Great fight at Brit/Euro level though, not to be missed.
Bivol v Cleverly - Unification!
A banner year for for the greatest sport of all. After news that Alvarez has at last agreed to challenge Golovkin, here is the icing on the cake. Bivol v Cleverly for the unified regular and interim belts of the wba (lower case). Braemer must have retired, or does he have one of those in recess belts or something, can't be the emeritus one, then again, maybe he has!
Hilarious to see his majesty on a never ending merry go round of mandos, chasing after an IBF bauble, that slips out of his greedy grasp as soon as he wins it. Wonderful!
Both Joshua and Fury lost pure and simple to a far superior opponent. Despite having every conceivable advantage over Usyk, they lost all 4 fights. It came as a dramatic shock to both of them, as evidenced by their post fight meltdowns.
in reality, given his enormous size advantage, Fury should never have had any trouble against one trick pony, Wilder, far less being decked 4 times!
As for Joshua, his knockout loss to the morbidly obese substitute, Ruiz, is unforgettable!
The Olympic list of future world heavyweight champions actually began in 1952, not 1960. Floyd Patterson won in Helsinki, being the first Olympic champ to go on to win the heavyweight title. Subsequently became the first to regain the heavyweight title and remains the youngest man to win the lineal heavyweight title, isn't that right Mike, you being a boxing historian?
Hagler on Marciano and Mayweather's "unbeaten" records.
Surely Rocky does not really qualify for an unbeaten record. 49-1 is the real record, losing to Coley Wallace in a curiously listed "amateur" bout, yet the Rock was already fighting professionally. No doubt had he beaten Wallace, his record would read 50-0!
Far too much emphasis is put on unbeaten records, which in most, if not all cases, contain questionableable decisions.
Chris Eubank interim title
An acting interim-champion, whatever next? Suppose he gets injured, will we then have to have an acting acting interim-champion! As Groucho said "Get me the sanity clause".