The WBC heavyweight changes are ******

[davros1000]

I haven’t posted on here for years, but after seeing the news of the WBC changes to the heavyweight I felt the need to have a rant.

It is a really dumb idea and I don’t think they have even thought it through properly. From a sporting perspective it doesn’t even make sense:


1. The WBC champion for the past 5 years wouldn’t even qualify for the new heavyweight division, which makes the whole thing ******. He weighed below the proposed 224lb weight 7 times, and got a draw against Fury weighing just 213lb

2. There have been heavyweight title holders since 2000 that have weighed below 224lb, including Chris Byrd, David Haye and Deontay Wilder. Jones won a title in 2003 weighing just 193lb

3. There are good heavyweight contenders below the 224lb weight. Michael Hunter and Oleksandr Usyk for example

4. They will weaken the division by reducing the talent pool taking part

5. The heavyweight division is the blue chip division (at least it used to be) and by splitting it in half they will devalue there own title

6. If the other sanctioning bodies don’t follow the WBC with these changes they will further devalue them self’s and then WBA, IBF, WBO can claim to be the true heavyweight titles

7. Fighters moving up from cruiserweight won’t fight for the new WBC titles. It would make more financial sense to fight for proper heavyweight titles

8. Crusierweight and heavyweight unification will become more complicated (hopefully the other sanctioning bodies won't change there weight classes)

9. Most of the great heavyweights from the past would no longer be heavyweights

10. The heavyweight division is the most important from a historical and media perspective, by all but removing the division they risk relegating the sport to proper minority sport status


I can't think of any positives from this move.

The only thing I can think is the WBC have not even thought this through properly and are just after money from sanctioning another belt, maybe they are in trouble due to coronavirus and need more fees.

Hopefully the other sanctioning bodies don’t change, and this might force the WBC to rethink there plan, or reduce the WBC to paper belt status.

[Get em up]

The thing about the new weight class is it would be easy for most heavyweights to make the 224 mark. It's not uncommon for a fighter to gain 12 to 15 after weigh in so realistically a 240 pound heavyweight could cut enough weight to make weight then balloon back up before the fight. Its ridiculous. We have too many weight classes and too many belts already

[boliodogs]

I haven’t posted on here for years, but after seeing the news of the WBC changes to the heavyweight I felt the need to have a rant.

It is a really dumb idea and I don’t think they have even thought it through properly. From a sporting perspective it doesn’t even make sense:


1. The WBC champion for the past 5 years wouldn’t even qualify for the new heavyweight division, which makes the whole thing ******. He weighed below the proposed 224lb weight 7 times, and got a draw against Fury weighing just 213lb

2. There have been heavyweight title holders since 2000 that have weighed below 224lb, including Chris Byrd, David Haye and Deontay Wilder. Jones won a title in 2003 weighing just 193lb

3. There are good heavyweight contenders below the 224lb weight. Michael Hunter and Oleksandr Usyk for example

4. They will weaken the division by reducing the talent pool taking part

5. The heavyweight division is the blue chip division (at least it used to be) and by splitting it in half they will devalue there own title

6. If the other sanctioning bodies don’t follow the WBC with these changes they will further devalue them self’s and then WBA, IBF, WBO can claim to be the true heavyweight titles

7. Fighters moving up from cruiserweight won’t fight for the new WBC titles. It would make more financial sense to fight for proper heavyweight titles

8. Crusierweight and heavyweight unification will become more complicated (hopefully the other sanctioning bodies won't change there weight classes)

9. Most of the great heavyweights from the past would no longer be heavyweights

10. The heavyweight division is the most important from a historical and media perspective, by all but removing the division they risk relegating the sport to proper minority sport status


I can't think of any positives from this move.

The only thing I can think is the WBC have not even thought this through properly and are just after money from sanctioning another belt, maybe they are in trouble due to coronavirus and need more fees.

Hopefully the other sanctioning bodies don’t change, and this might force the WBC to rethink there plan, or reduce the WBC to paper belt status.

nobody but the WBC will recognize this new weight class so it won't last long.

[Inspired]

i laughed when it said "so that wilder could fight usyk"

- as if they can't theoretically fight right now at HW
- as if wilder would even fight usyk

it's pathetic from sulaiman, just wants more money. the franchise belt situation was a total joke already, now this.

the man is literally destroying boxing and everyone in boxing praises the guy.

im sure sulaiman does more for boxing on a ground floor level than the other organisations though. these organisations are all corrupt for sure. the dodgy rankings and mandatories prove they are.

[Toffee]

Every point in the original post seems to be based on an error of fact.

They haven't proposed a minimum have they? And Heavyweight will still be the blue riband division.

I'm not a fan of the proposed new weight class either, but for none of the reasons above.

If someone like Wilder thinks his best chance of beating big heavyweights is to be 215, then there's no problem. He doesn't need to weigh 235 just for the sake of it.

[davros1000]

After looking at a newer news article (I read an article a week ago, that didn't have any clarifying points), you are correct in that there is no minimum weight, however I am not sure there is a minimum weight in any division, so I believe my points are valid. Would people below 224lb be ranked in the division? Could someone below 224lb become a mandatory challenger?

[REDEEMER]

Every point in the original post seems to be based on an error of fact.

They haven't proposed a minimum have they? And Heavyweight will still be the blue riband division.

I'm not a fan of the proposed new weight class either, but for none of the reasons above.

If someone like Wilder thinks his best chance of beating big heavyweights is to be 215, then there's no problem. He doesn't need to weigh 235 just for the sake of it.

The WBC won’t put restrictions on any former or current champion to fight at the new class though . What they weigh will be on them as long as it’s reasonably within distance .

What the poster did is pick selective guys which makes up about 1. % of anyone who ever won a heavyweight title and used Haye defeating Valuev but ignored the Klitschko fight ? Ha

The fact is there’s no one under 215 that has a significant chance at winning a title here ,Wilder got his clock cleaned by 270 pound Fury and couldn’t deal with him in the first one weighing 209 that’s the fighters of now not yesterday so I’m not sure where the logic is having a heavy weight class start at 200 ? There is no actual sense to it . It’s why the Cruiserweight division was created because then the cut off mark made no sense either like this one doesn’t now as is outdated .

[elfag]

the number of heavyweights who are actually over 240 pounds lean and in the top 10 are a lot smaller than they make it out to be.

all of these 260 pound bloat lords are walking around but if they had to be lean like fighters in other divisions they would really be a 230 pound guy


Povetkin just came in at 224 as a 40 year old man and sparked out one of the top heavyweights. so why do we need another division, we dont.

[Willy Wanker]

WBC most prestigious doe.

[elfag]

The WBC won’t put restrictions on any former or current champion to fight at the new class though . What they weigh will be on them as long as it’s reasonably within distance .

What the poster did is pick selective guys which makes up about 1. % of anyone who ever won a heavyweight title and used Haye defeating Valuev but ignored the Klitschko fight ? Ha

The fact is there’s no one under 215 that has a significant chance at winning a title here ,Wilder got his clock cleaned by 270 pound Fury and couldn’t deal with him in the first one weighing 209 that’s the fighters of now not yesterday so I’m not sure where the logic is having a heavy weight class start at 200 ? There is no actual sense to it . It’s why the Cruiserweight division was created because then the cut off mark made no sense either like this one doesn’t now as is outdated .

The cruiserweight is already chit as it is, why add a super cruiserweight division on top of it.

whatever weight limit you set it at, guys will just drain as they see fit but whenever they raise their stock they will leave it and come back to heavy where all the attention is.

Any cruiserweight that makes a name abandons it for heavyweight, the division just ends up as a no mans land.


Those heavyweights under 215 that you say cant make it at heavy... they can make cruiser as it is now and are CHOOSING to fight at heavy. What does adding a new division do to help?