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There was a time when the boxing organizations made me seethe with rage. It took quite a while for me to come to my senses – no point in wasting anger on things you can't influence. So, what do you do? You embrase the orgs.
Nowadays, I have pretty fun reading about actions taken by our beloved boxing orgs through the years. Tonight for ex., I went back to the Marvin Hagler–Wilford Scypion confrontation in 1983.
Boxrec headlines this piece “Sanctioning Controversy”, a controversy I had forgotten but enjoyed being reminded of:
In the case of unified champions, the WBA and WBC agreed that they would take turns acting as the "host" organization for title defenses. In Hagler's previous fight, a sixth-round knockout of Tony Sibson, the WBC provided the officials and the supervision.
On March 11, Bob Arum, the co-promoter of the bout, was told by Dr. Elias Cordova, the chairman of the WBA championship committee, that the Scypion fight would have WBA officials and be scheduled for 15 rounds. Subsequently, however, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, using the argument that Scypion was the WBC's #1 contender but only #2 according to the WBA, convinced WBA president Gilberto Mendoza to allow the WBC to run the show. When Dr. Cordova objected, they reached a new agreement: In exchange for the control of Hagler's next two defenses, the WBA agreed to let Sulaiman direct Hagler vs. Scypion.
Sulaiman ordered the fight to be re-scheduled for 12 rounds. When Hagler refused, the WBC emergency committee voted to sanction the fight for 15 rounds. However, the WBC later rescinded their sanction because two of the bout's officials, referee Frank Cappuccino and judge Joe Cortez, were not members of the WBC.
The WBC and WBA continued to recognize Hagler as champion, but they said the titles would be declared vacant if Hagler lost to Scypion. The fight was sanctioned only by the newly formed United States Boxing Association-International, which later became the International Boxing Federation.
So, both WBC and WBA agreed on that Hagler was world champion. And they agreed on that Scypion was a legitimate title challenger. And that if Scypion won, they agreed on that the title should be declared vacant.
Fascinating.
Nowadays, I have pretty fun reading about actions taken by our beloved boxing orgs through the years. Tonight for ex., I went back to the Marvin Hagler–Wilford Scypion confrontation in 1983.
Boxrec headlines this piece “Sanctioning Controversy”, a controversy I had forgotten but enjoyed being reminded of:
In the case of unified champions, the WBA and WBC agreed that they would take turns acting as the "host" organization for title defenses. In Hagler's previous fight, a sixth-round knockout of Tony Sibson, the WBC provided the officials and the supervision.
On March 11, Bob Arum, the co-promoter of the bout, was told by Dr. Elias Cordova, the chairman of the WBA championship committee, that the Scypion fight would have WBA officials and be scheduled for 15 rounds. Subsequently, however, WBC president Jose Sulaiman, using the argument that Scypion was the WBC's #1 contender but only #2 according to the WBA, convinced WBA president Gilberto Mendoza to allow the WBC to run the show. When Dr. Cordova objected, they reached a new agreement: In exchange for the control of Hagler's next two defenses, the WBA agreed to let Sulaiman direct Hagler vs. Scypion.
Sulaiman ordered the fight to be re-scheduled for 12 rounds. When Hagler refused, the WBC emergency committee voted to sanction the fight for 15 rounds. However, the WBC later rescinded their sanction because two of the bout's officials, referee Frank Cappuccino and judge Joe Cortez, were not members of the WBC.
The WBC and WBA continued to recognize Hagler as champion, but they said the titles would be declared vacant if Hagler lost to Scypion. The fight was sanctioned only by the newly formed United States Boxing Association-International, which later became the International Boxing Federation.
So, both WBC and WBA agreed on that Hagler was world champion. And they agreed on that Scypion was a legitimate title challenger. And that if Scypion won, they agreed on that the title should be declared vacant.
Fascinating.
Willie Pep 229
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