40 Years of Watering Down

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Maybe the PBC can make it happen. Once something gets tainted, like the WBA for sure, it is nearly impossible to bring it back around. If the PBC becomes the new thing with one champion per division, fighters might actually cling on to that and may stop paying the sanctioning fees which would bankrupt those corrupt organizations and we'd just have title per division again. I hope it comes true.

[_original_]

I'm just waiting for Boxingscene to put out their own belt and get some of that sanctioning fee moolah going around.

[Dr Rumack]

It's a big mess no question. It's why we see guys who are 3-4 division champs without fighting anyone really. Broner and Santa Cruz are a couple recent examples (at least Broner did fight one legit champ/#1 guy). Fair to say they wouldn't have accomplished that if there was only one champion per division.

It's even worse than that, because these '3/4 division champions' can easily be fabricated if they are backed by the right promoter. Broner for example is probably the sport's premier silver spoon fighter. He is a good fighter with the right image, and so he gets jumped over two entire divisions for the shot at Paulie's belt, gets his 140lb shot for losing to Shawn Porter, waltzes into a title shot at 135, and beats Vicente Rodriguez for his belt at 130.

This is a '4 division champion' nowadays. I rate Broner more highly than the majority on here but this sort of shit is a cancer in the sport. It has never meant less to be a world champion.

[low blows]

Except for rare occasions I only rate a fighter as legitimate top 5 fighter if he wins a "world title".

Titles are so devalued these days that if a fighter is a ranked top 10 guy and he fights long enough he will win at least an interim belt at some point in his career, and now the WBA has devalued that trinket as fighters have won that belt without an injured or inactive champion ie Luis Ortiz who should be a mandatory for the near worthless WBA regular belt.

[New England]

sadly, until the "WBC diamond megabelt" stops putting casual's butts in seats at casinos, we're gonna see more of them


prettysure i could have been a contender at cruiserweight, and won an interim WBA silver big boy championship. i wouldn't have been the best CW, but damnit i could have made it into the top , who all have belts now

[Tony Trick-Pony]

sadly, until the "WBC diamond megabelt" stops putting casual's butts in seats at casinos, we're gonna see more of them


prettysure i could have been a contender at cruiserweight, and won an interim WBA silver big boy championship. i wouldn't have been the best CW, but damnit i could have made it into the top , who all have belts now

The "big boy" belt. Haha. I like that one. I'm sure you'd have a shot. I'd go for the "Kinda big boy" light heavyweight crown. These belts probably wouldn't have any actual metal in them. Definitely plastic but would look good on my wall- well, kind of.

[-PBP-]

Sanctioning bodies are for profit businesses. They gotta make money some how.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Sanctioning bodies are for profit businesses. They gotta make money some how.

And the sport really needs FOUR of them? No other sport has four.

[-PBP-]

And the sport really needs FOUR of them? No other sport has four.

You're talking about an organization that has a Super Champion, a Regular Champion, an Interim Champion and an Interim Interim Champion. You think they care about what the sport really needs?

[Tony Trick-Pony]

You're talking about an organization that has a Super Champion, a Regular Champion, an Interim Champion and an Interim Interim Champion. You think they care about what the sport really needs?

You condoned their actions.