Tweet
The Sad Truth About the Boxing Sanctioning Bodies
The day was September 17, 2005, and 35 year old IBF (International Boxing Federation) Lightweight champion Leavander Johnson was facing the younger and hungrier Mexican challenger Jesus Chavez. Johnson had been a professional boxer for 16 years at the time, but this was his first defense of a title he had earned just 3 months before.
Some facts suggest that he never should have been in that ring to begin with. He had to try 5 different times from 1994 to 2005 to earn a title. Chavez was a maniac at the time, his only defeats were against two Hall of Fame boxers and one less than a year into his career, while Johnson had lost against mediocre competition. Also, Johnson won his title against Italian boxer Stefano Zoff, who had a less than impressive record of 43-9-2.
Somehow the fight was made, a huge mismatch from the beginning and it all happened as it was predicted. Chavez wore down Johnson’s defense, and started landing at will. In the 10th round, Chavez landed a 12 punch combination that went unanswered by Johnson. Later that same round, he landed another unanswered 10 punch combination, however neither his corner nor the referee stopped the fight. By the 11th the punishment was too much and the fight was stopped. After the fight Johnson collapsed in his dressing room. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where he underwent brain surgery for a brain injury. He was placed in a medically induced coma, but died five days later after doctors and family members decided to remove him from life support equipment.
Johnson’s record at the time was not the record of a world champion. Over the course of four years, Johnson fought only four times. In November of 2003, he faced Javier Jauregui for the IBF lightweight championship of the world and lost. Then in March of 2003, he laced them up again against Colombian Roque Cassiani, a man who in his last six fights had gone 0-5-1, but somehow after Johnson defeated Cassiani he was given another shot to the title. This time he came out victorious against Italian fighter Stefano Zoff and earned the title for the first time in his career.
However, he did not face the opposition a “champion” needs to face. From the three fighters already mentioned excluding Chavez, Johnson faced boxers with nine or more defeats, then he was matched against Chavez who had only 3. Was that fair? I would say NO.
And the outcome supports my opinion.
There are seventeen different weight classes in modern boxing, and four different sanctioning bodies; the WBC (World Boxing Council), the WBA (World Boxing Association), the IBF (International Boxing Federation) and WBO (World Boxing Organization). Every single one of them has a different ranking system and different championship belts; this adds up to sixty-eight different champions (unifications put aside) and 4 different champions per weight class. Sometimes, there is a big talent difference between the different champions in the same weight class. And that is how two fighters with such skill difference as Johnson and Chavez wound up facing each other.
Leavander Johnson was a warrior who never gave up, not even when he was getting tagged with 11 or 12 combination combos Chavez was throwing his way. He also never gave up even though he got defeated four times before actually earning a title. It is hard to say he did not deserve a title but fact is that Johnson got through the gaps that the sanctioning bodies leave, and became a champion. However, when the time was right and he faced a better fighter, the outcome was tragic. The sad part is that Mr. Johnson’s life could have been saved if the IBF had recognized Johnson was a decent fighter, but not championship material. Instead, they failed to recognize it and a man lost his life. This is why there should be only one sanctioning body, to prevent blunders like the one that that night.
The day was September 17, 2005, and 35 year old IBF (International Boxing Federation) Lightweight champion Leavander Johnson was facing the younger and hungrier Mexican challenger Jesus Chavez. Johnson had been a professional boxer for 16 years at the time, but this was his first defense of a title he had earned just 3 months before.
Some facts suggest that he never should have been in that ring to begin with. He had to try 5 different times from 1994 to 2005 to earn a title. Chavez was a maniac at the time, his only defeats were against two Hall of Fame boxers and one less than a year into his career, while Johnson had lost against mediocre competition. Also, Johnson won his title against Italian boxer Stefano Zoff, who had a less than impressive record of 43-9-2.
Somehow the fight was made, a huge mismatch from the beginning and it all happened as it was predicted. Chavez wore down Johnson’s defense, and started landing at will. In the 10th round, Chavez landed a 12 punch combination that went unanswered by Johnson. Later that same round, he landed another unanswered 10 punch combination, however neither his corner nor the referee stopped the fight. By the 11th the punishment was too much and the fight was stopped. After the fight Johnson collapsed in his dressing room. He was taken by ambulance to a local hospital where he underwent brain surgery for a brain injury. He was placed in a medically induced coma, but died five days later after doctors and family members decided to remove him from life support equipment.
Johnson’s record at the time was not the record of a world champion. Over the course of four years, Johnson fought only four times. In November of 2003, he faced Javier Jauregui for the IBF lightweight championship of the world and lost. Then in March of 2003, he laced them up again against Colombian Roque Cassiani, a man who in his last six fights had gone 0-5-1, but somehow after Johnson defeated Cassiani he was given another shot to the title. This time he came out victorious against Italian fighter Stefano Zoff and earned the title for the first time in his career.
However, he did not face the opposition a “champion” needs to face. From the three fighters already mentioned excluding Chavez, Johnson faced boxers with nine or more defeats, then he was matched against Chavez who had only 3. Was that fair? I would say NO.
And the outcome supports my opinion.
There are seventeen different weight classes in modern boxing, and four different sanctioning bodies; the WBC (World Boxing Council), the WBA (World Boxing Association), the IBF (International Boxing Federation) and WBO (World Boxing Organization). Every single one of them has a different ranking system and different championship belts; this adds up to sixty-eight different champions (unifications put aside) and 4 different champions per weight class. Sometimes, there is a big talent difference between the different champions in the same weight class. And that is how two fighters with such skill difference as Johnson and Chavez wound up facing each other.
Leavander Johnson was a warrior who never gave up, not even when he was getting tagged with 11 or 12 combination combos Chavez was throwing his way. He also never gave up even though he got defeated four times before actually earning a title. It is hard to say he did not deserve a title but fact is that Johnson got through the gaps that the sanctioning bodies leave, and became a champion. However, when the time was right and he faced a better fighter, the outcome was tragic. The sad part is that Mr. Johnson’s life could have been saved if the IBF had recognized Johnson was a decent fighter, but not championship material. Instead, they failed to recognize it and a man lost his life. This is why there should be only one sanctioning body, to prevent blunders like the one that that night.
Comment