History Of the ABC's

[Ben Bolt]

Boxing fell apart starting with Leon Spinks being stripped of his heavyweight championship after beating Ali. That title was handed to Norton. It’s been downhill since that time. The commissions which number 5 or 6 today decided to start running themselves as businesses maximizing revenue by maximizing the number of championship bouts. Today you have the potential of 5 world champions and 50 top ten contenders. A joke which has permanently ruined the sport.

What actually started "the joke which has permanently ruined the sport" (I agree) is the The Ring ratings scandal and the 1976 'United States Boxing Championships'.
For us old-timers, the sport has never been the same since then.

But perhaps the boxers see it different. In The Ring Aug 2020 issue, Mickey Ward is quoted saying: "Some people have told me that I never really won a major title. Well, in boxing these days, with so many different governing bodies, one title is pretty much as meaningful as another, and if they want to call this one a world championship, I'll take it."
Ward won the WBU jr welterweight crown. If WBA, WBC and IBF state, that there can be several 'world' champs simultaneously, so why cannot WBU?

Today, we have 17 weight classes. It should mean 17 world champions. But boxing have some 60 of it.
If sport-interested people don't take boxing (and its ocean of 'world titles') seriously nowadays, you can't blame them.

[HOUDINI563]

Sorry. I lived through that mid 70’s scandal. It had nothing to do with what occurred some 15 years later. The stripping of a legitimate champion and the handing over of the title without winning it in the ring.

Ali then retired and year by year things became more and more convoluted. Tyson’s dominance made it clear who was the champion once he destroyed Mike Spinks. It’s been a mess since Tyson went to prison.

The Ring scandal was a blip when you look at the totality of damage incurred over the last 30-40 years.

[Ben Bolt]

The Ring scandal was a blip when you look at the totality of damage incurred over the last 30-40 years.

It had all to do with it. The Ring ratings (boxing ratings invented by The Ring) had for decade after decade been the voice listening to, when titles were recognized.

After the scandal was exposed, ABC turned to WBC, and it let the orgs take power.
The TV companies were eager to launch every broadcast as having a 'world title' at stake, and now they could go ahead exploiting their wishes. WBC, WBA or XYZ - every letter combination was welcomed to foolish the TV-viewers.

When WBC or WBA deprived a champ from a title in the 60s, no one listened to them. They had as much authority as IBU or WBU have today.
Who was the true world champ in every weight division was clear to every follower of the sport.
I wrote it before, one f* cking guy (the anonymous John Ort) set the direction for boxing's future and chaos.

[HOUDINI563]

With one champion in every division (predominantly) one did not need Ring rankings to know who was the champion and who were the top challengers. It was really not possible to alter a top fighters record, such as a Holmes, as they were so visible. Instead a few journeymen records were padded a bit and were given rankings they did not deserve. A scandal absolutely but a blip.

[Ben Bolt]

Instead a few journeymen records were padded a bit and were given rankings they did not deserve.

The padded records were what watered the roots of WBC and WBA so they could grow big, and later spread other weed like IBF and WBO.