Are weight division regulations hurting boxing?
While the rest of the world is getting on, boxing’s in the middle of a deepest recession. It’s not the first time the sport’s run into hard widespread problems, but with the state of game experiencing many changes in recent years and developing in a world with new sporting and cultural interests it can safely be called the worst slump in a long time.
The problems of boxing today are many. It’s been facing a considerable decrease in popularity as MMA increasingly becomes the North American combat sport people care about. The heavyweight division, once the most important in boxing, is suffering from a serious lack of talent, but it is by no means the only division. American fighters are also declining in number, significance and talent, and professional boxing’s business scene still not hasn't grasped the shift towards Europe as the dominant boxing market. And even if you are a good fighter that’s no guarantee of success, because of the lack of promotion and exploitative promotion companies.
All these are tough to fix. But there’s one that might now be as difficult- the way weight classes are affecting the quality of the sport.
Once upon a time, and all the way up until the sixties, there were 8 weight divisions utilized in boxing: Flyweight (112lb), Bantamweight (118lb), Featherweight (126lb), Lightweight (135lb), Welterweight (147lb), Middleweight (160lb), Light Heavyweight (175lb) and Heavyweight (unlimited). But today there are no less the 17. That has profound effects on the sport. Consider first the implications it has on the current notion of world champions. In 1957, due to the eight divisions, there were only eight title holders in the world. But today, with 17 divisions, and 8 sanctioning bodies in the sport (WBO, WBA, WBC, NABF, IBO, WBF, WBU, IBF-USBA), there is a potential for exactly 95 so-called “world champions.” While the number of champions is a whole other cookie to crack, the current dividing of weight classes exacerbated the entire problem.
To be sure, the reason for the high division of weight classes today is to insure the health and safety of fighters. But one has to wonder today, as the sport continues to flounder, whether or not that implementation was really in the best interest of the sport.
Besides, it isn’t even clear current divisions absolve fighters from unnecessary injury. Actually, it might have the opposite effect. As many notice, because divisions are so close in weight, it isn’t uncommon today to see fighters campaigning in a whole number of them. The darling example of this Manny Pacquiao, who accomplished the staggering feat of winning titles in seven different weight classes. Years ago this was completely impossible. But slipping from division to division today can have dangerous effects for many fighters, who hope their bodies will be able to match the ambition of their hearts.
There is also the question of catchweights. Catchweights are utilized in boxing to further level the playing field between fighters that would otherwise not be able to fight each other. As such, they determine a mid-way point between two fighters, but are often still for belts won at yet another weight. This creates confusion, and those who insist a title fight at a catchweight is not a true title bout at all. After all, how can a fighter win a belt for a certain division if fought at a weight technically outside of it? (A good example of this is Pacquiao – Cotto, fought at 145Ibs for the 147 WBO Welterweight title).
For many current weight regulations seem all too complicated, and obscure the value of having fewer champions. Unfortunately, change does not seem imminent. As weight goes, boxing prides itself on remaining by the books, and that means retaining current regulations.
Tags: