I've been saying a while now the fighters need to reclaim their sport from the sanctioning bodies. They are the pox on our sport, manipulating both fighters and fans and selling us short.
If the top 15-20 fighters handed in their belts and spurned the sanctioning bodies, what would happen to the sanctioning bodies?
For sure the second and third-tier fighters on the fringes, or holding bogus, interim titles would become “full champions” for the likes of the WBC and WBA. Rather than handing legitimacy to the fighters, it will further underline the worthlessness of the sanctioning bodies, who now have a group of lesser names representing their championships.
This is essentially what has happened with the WBA welterweight title since Mayweather refused to pay a sanctioning fee, and Mosley refused the WBA's request for more money to retain his title. The WBA title “fell” to Yuriy Nuzhnenko, who lost it to Vyacheslav Senchenko. That in a microcosm is what needs to happen to the sport entirely.
So if the top 20 fighters P4P boycotted the sanctioning bodies and started a breakaway Fighter's League, there'd surely be a groundswell of support. It would be seen as fighters taking control of their sport away from the greedy, corrupt sanctioning bodies.
The rankings would be decided by the fighters themselves. Once a month they rate the best fighters in their division. They can vote in as may divisions as they like. The one rule being they cannot vote for themselves. What greater legitimacy can a fighter have than to beat the guy rated the best by his own peers?
The whole thing could be managed by the fighters who are signed to the league. If any outsider is brought in to manage it, the single qualification is that they be a Hall of Fame fighter or trainer.
What do you all think? Any thoughts or contributions welcome....
If the top 15-20 fighters handed in their belts and spurned the sanctioning bodies, what would happen to the sanctioning bodies?
For sure the second and third-tier fighters on the fringes, or holding bogus, interim titles would become “full champions” for the likes of the WBC and WBA. Rather than handing legitimacy to the fighters, it will further underline the worthlessness of the sanctioning bodies, who now have a group of lesser names representing their championships.
This is essentially what has happened with the WBA welterweight title since Mayweather refused to pay a sanctioning fee, and Mosley refused the WBA's request for more money to retain his title. The WBA title “fell” to Yuriy Nuzhnenko, who lost it to Vyacheslav Senchenko. That in a microcosm is what needs to happen to the sport entirely.
So if the top 20 fighters P4P boycotted the sanctioning bodies and started a breakaway Fighter's League, there'd surely be a groundswell of support. It would be seen as fighters taking control of their sport away from the greedy, corrupt sanctioning bodies.
The rankings would be decided by the fighters themselves. Once a month they rate the best fighters in their division. They can vote in as may divisions as they like. The one rule being they cannot vote for themselves. What greater legitimacy can a fighter have than to beat the guy rated the best by his own peers?
The whole thing could be managed by the fighters who are signed to the league. If any outsider is brought in to manage it, the single qualification is that they be a Hall of Fame fighter or trainer.
What do you all think? Any thoughts or contributions welcome....
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