The WBA

[trfcdan86]

Fast becoming?!?! Lol.

I'd say the entire 4 belt structure is a joke and has been since it's inception, but it's been a joke to most fans for years & specifically the WBA has been a favored punchline for many cats. You're late to a party that's been going on awhile I'd say.

If anything the more disturbing trend is the IBO belt keeps getting mentioned with the other 4 belts more & more, like last night, making a new 5 belt structure being accepted by fans more of a reality by the day. If they get some better title holders in just a few more division I think they will sneak inside the legit "world champion" line for many fans very soon.

I'm not late, I've been well aware of this farce since I started following the sport.

The point I was making with this thread is that the WBA in particular have taken things to another level over the last 5 years, and need to be called out on it.

I agree about the IBO, Chris Eubank Jnr has been parading his belt around like it's legit. And what's worse is that the media are referring to him as a "world champion".

[soul_survivor]

"Best Heavyweight"?

Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight until proven otherwise, he's the LINEAL champion.

Why is everyone forgetting this?

As boxing fans we long for a day where there the alphabet soup is no more and there is only one champ per division.

So why don't we all honor this and recognise Fury as the world heavyweight champion?

Joshua is yet to beat a legit reigning world champion.

No one is forgetting it. The reality is Fury has not fought in 18 months and has been suspended on account of testing positive for a banned substance. He should no longer be on any legitimate ranking until he comes back and proves his position once again.

[original zero]

I thought they got rid of the regular belt once Chag was stripped.

Due to a legal settlement, Lucas Browne was entitled to a shot at the WBA world championship. Due to a legal settlement years prior, Fres Oquendo was entitled to a shot at the WBA world championship as well, but still injured. Lucas Browne was ordered to face Shannon Briggs, with the winner facing Oquendo.

Luis Ortiz was ordered to defend the interim title against Ustinov.

Browne failed a drug test, so it's Briggs vs Oquendo now for the world championship. Ortiz ducked Ustinov and gave up the interim title. Rather than crown another interim champion, the WBA ordered the Briggs/Oquendo winner to face Ustinov.

So the WBA has been following through on their promise to reduce titles. It's just very tricky to do without getting sued by a party being damaged by the reduction. That's why it's taking so long. But they did successfully reduce from 3 to 2 and hopefully soon they'll be able to reduce from 2 to 1. They just have to get Oquendo and Ustinov out of the way.

[original zero]

I'd say the entire 4 belt structure is a joke and has been since it's inception, but it's been a joke to most fans for years & specifically the WBA has been a favored punchline for many cats. You're late to a party that's been going on awhile I'd say.

Blame those who accepted the WBO. Many of us put up a fight. The UK is at fault for putting the WBO on the map. UK TV wanted to have a ton of world title fights like US TV had, so they accepted a WBOgus belt and pretended it was a world title.

When US TV started to accept the WBO too, UK TV started pretending the WBU was a world title. When the WBU died, they started pretending the IBO was a world title. The only thing that stopped the IBO was Sky Sports finally putting their foot down and saying NO MORE FAKE WORLD TITLES. If Sky Sports didn't do that, we'd be in the 5 belt era by now.

[original zero]

Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight until proven otherwise, he's the LINEAL champion.

Based on bogus lineage. Vitali Klitschko was clearly the best fighter in the world. He was also the WBC champion, the best belt in boxing. So how the hell could Klitschko & Chagaev crown a lineal champion? It never made any sense.

Any lineage that doesn't begin with WBC/WBA unification is not true lineage.

[RuslanChagaev]

LOL, many jokes in WBA. It is impossible to follow which boxers are champions in this federation.

What about Alexander Ustinov? This guy is thinking about what to do? He's in the top three in WBA but he's not fighting for more than a year. Luis Ortiz needs to go to the championship fight. He deserves it.

[original zero]

What about Alexander Ustinov?

As has already been explained in this thread, Ustinov was the mandatory to Ortiz's interim title. Ortiz ducked Ustinov and threw the interim title in the garbage.

Rather than allow Ustinov to fight for the vacant interim title, Ustinov was named the mandatory to the world title because the WBA is trying to reduce the number of titles.

Briggs/Oquendo winner must face Ustinov.

[KillaCamNZ]

"Best Heavyweight"?

Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight until proven otherwise, he's the LINEAL champion.

Why is everyone forgetting this?

As boxing fans we long for a day where there the alphabet soup is no more and there is only one champ per division.

So why don't we all honor this and recognise Fury as the world heavyweight champion?

Joshua is yet to beat a legit reigning world champion.

Because lineal "championships" are intangible things that some fans desperately hold onto, ignoring the fact that it's relevance is at an all-time low.

I do long for the day when we do away with scrabble titles. I also long for the day when people let go of an outdated philosophy that does not have any legitimate governance.

I can imagine the intro for Fury's comeback fight now - "With a record of 25 wins - 18 by way of knockout, and zero losses...the reigning Cyber Boxing Zone dot com Lineal Champion....Tyson Fury!"

[Larry the boss]

Isnt Briggs fighting for that title?

[Larry the boss]

"Best Heavyweight"?

Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight until proven otherwise, he's the LINEAL champion.

Why is everyone forgetting this?

As boxing fans we long for a day where there the alphabet soup is no more and there is only one champ per division.

So why don't we all honor this and recognise Fury as the world heavyweight champion?

Joshua is yet to beat a legit reigning world champion.

true but Fury "retired"