Is Unification important? should boxers get praised for unifying?

[GGG Gloveking]

I'm a firm believer in unification. What sense does it make to have 2, 3 4 or more men claiming to be champ at any particular division? There can only be one...

It's like the NFL having Conf. champs but never playing the Super Bowl

[Eff Pandas]

If i recall correctly, three of the four sanctioning bodies came together to make rules for the mandatories of unified champions. So that they pick a common mandatory challenger and not each sanctioning body their own. But whether they really implement it, is another question. lol

Yea I'd bet against that happening lol.

Think the WBA said they were getting rid of all but one of their belts in some unification tournament in 2014. Last I checked they hadn't.

I suppose it is good the alphabet groups are talking, but I'll believe them to be working together for the betterment of boxing when I see some action based upon that talking.

[asgarth]

Yea I'd bet against that happening lol.

Think the WBA said they were getting rid of all but one of their belts in some unification tournament in 2014. Last I checked they hadn't.

I suppose it is good the alphabet groups are talking, but I'll believe them to be working together for the betterment of boxing when I see some action based upon that talking.

found the article

http://www.boxingscene.com/wba-wbc-establish-single-mandatory-unified-champs--113194

Well, i wont get my hopes up lol

Edit: just read the article again

"One fight already facing an issue is the heavyweight battle between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko, who collide on April 29th for the IBF, WBA, IBO belts. Both the WBA, IBF have ordered a mandatory defense for the winner. The WBA has ordered a fight against Luis Ortiz and the IBF ordered the winner Kubrat Pulev. The current scenario may force the victor to vacate one of the belts, as the IBF in particular does not allow step-aside deals. "

Thats just plain ******. How can a champ lose his title for not being able to fight 2 mandatories at the same time. smh

[Lomasexual]

I rate unification pretty highly.

If every fighter had the goal of unifying their division, I believe that boxing would be in a much better place.

[Bjl12]

Pointless. There are alphabet belts/champions. In any weight class - even today - most fans could pick out a divisions top 2 fighters. After those guys fight a case can and should be made for going after money fights. Otherwise a guy ends up like Kell Brook or Adonis Stevenson fighting fringe top 10 guys over and over.

Sanctioning belts stopped mattering once there was more than one champion per weight class.

[Furn]

They are usually good fights but they can also be used as an excuse for cherry picking an easy fight.

I mean would the Horn fight be good if he was IBF or WBO champ with the same wins ?

It isn't that hard to get a belt in the right circumstances, like when a title is stripped or vacated.

[BoxingFan85]

I'm a strong believer that unifications are good and the best of the division should always be carved out.. you have a lot of phony champs these days who win a belt and claim they are the best.. So it's important that those guys face the best competition and unify to prove it..

[Sun_Tzu]

If you can get all four of the "major" ones yes, even just the WBA/IBF/WBC is a pretty decent accomplisment I think.

[The Big Dunn]

There was a very vocal group of posters that have denigrated belts for the past few years, posting that they feel that belts don't matter. However, since GGG has discussed unification as his "goal", many from this group have done a 180 degree change and now see value in having all the belts.

IMO unification should be the goal when possible because it looks good for anyone to be a consensus champion. That said, if you are in a situation where unification is virtually impossible (ex: Kieth Thurman at ww-Arum is in tight with the WBO and will not let Manny fight Thurman) it makes sense to take another path.

[SkillspayBills]

Of course. Being the sole champion in your division should be celebrated. The **** isn't easy man lol