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huh??? you mean when he moved up?? or when the WBC stripped him? and tried to make him champion Emertius
Ward won his WBC title by defeating Carl Froch in the finale of Showtime's Super Six tournament in 2011. He then successfully defended it last year with a dominating performance over long-time light heavyweight king Chad Dawson. He'd planned to defend it in January against Kelly Pavlik until a shoulder injury that required surgery forced its postponement.
Last month, the WBC stripped Ward of its belt and named him its champion emeritus. That move was a way for it to get sanctioning fees for two titles in the same class, a common trick for sanctioning bodies.
On Monday, though, Ward opted not to play that game. In a statement released through his publicist, Ward told the WBC he didn't want the emeritus title.
After careful thought and consideration with my family and team, I have decided to relinquish my WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Emeritus Title. As has been recently reported, the WBC elected to strip me of my world title belt, making the upcoming bout between Sakio Bika and Marco Antonio Periban for the vacant Super Middleweight Title. After consultation with my manager James Prince and attorney Josh Dubin, it is my belief that the WBC did not have the right to strip me of my World Title and name me Champion Emeritus. We voiced our position to the WBC, and after several discussions, have agreed to disagree with their interpretation of the facts and rules. In our opinion, we feel strongly that I did not violate the rules in any manner whatsoever.
Ward is right, of course. For years, boxing's major sanctioning bodies have manipulated the sport unfairly and, on occasion, unlawfully, with the goal of maximizing revenue.
\Promoters and television executives frequently scream about the horrors of the sanctioning bodies -- Currently, the WBA, the WBC, the WBO and the IBF are the four, ahem, major sanctioning groups -- but they're complicit because they play the game when it benefits them.
Ward won his WBC title by defeating Carl Froch in the finale of Showtime's Super Six tournament in 2011. He then successfully defended it last year with a dominating performance over long-time light heavyweight king Chad Dawson. He'd planned to defend it in January against Kelly Pavlik until a shoulder injury that required surgery forced its postponement.
Last month, the WBC stripped Ward of its belt and named him its champion emeritus. That move was a way for it to get sanctioning fees for two titles in the same class, a common trick for sanctioning bodies.
On Monday, though, Ward opted not to play that game. In a statement released through his publicist, Ward told the WBC he didn't want the emeritus title.
After careful thought and consideration with my family and team, I have decided to relinquish my WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Emeritus Title. As has been recently reported, the WBC elected to strip me of my world title belt, making the upcoming bout between Sakio Bika and Marco Antonio Periban for the vacant Super Middleweight Title. After consultation with my manager James Prince and attorney Josh Dubin, it is my belief that the WBC did not have the right to strip me of my World Title and name me Champion Emeritus. We voiced our position to the WBC, and after several discussions, have agreed to disagree with their interpretation of the facts and rules. In our opinion, we feel strongly that I did not violate the rules in any manner whatsoever.
Ward is right, of course. For years, boxing's major sanctioning bodies have manipulated the sport unfairly and, on occasion, unlawfully, with the goal of maximizing revenue.
\Promoters and television executives frequently scream about the horrors of the sanctioning bodies -- Currently, the WBA, the WBC, the WBO and the IBF are the four, ahem, major sanctioning groups -- but they're complicit because they play the game when it benefits them.
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