Boxing - an excelete sport but in a complete shambles!...?

Question

IBA

IBC

IBF

IBO

IBU

RING Magazine

WBA

WBC

WDF

WBO

WBU

These are just some of the "world" titles i have come across, does anybody have the technology to set up a web site - a petition idea to get this mess sorted once and for all

i'm sure u will agree with me that their should be one world champion in each weight class NOT TEN!!!!

ONE governing body, similar to soccer, where FIFA regulate the whole sport

please say if u afree

Answer 1

I agree bud. I could not name one, not one champion in any weight division. Too many organizations and weight classes; the cruiser-weight division is not necessary. Have one world champion and clearly defined weight divisions. If you must, have a North American, European or Asian champions to be designated the top contenders. These corporate titles are killing the sport.

Answer 2

It does seem these days that every single fight involves 3 or 4 titles in the same fight. For the casual watcher it is very tough to track who is the best from each weight-class and I think it hurts the sports wide appeal, not so much the hardcore fans.

Answer 3

I completely agree with you.  There are currently 4 world titles that everybody accepts, but then you have all of these others like IBO, WBU, and all of the other ones that you mentioned.  It should be like back in the days of Louis and Dempsey when there was only one champ per division.  Think about it- if you call yourself the champion, that means you are the best in your division, well how can their be "a best" when there are 4 "champions."  Max Kellerman said it best when he said "the sanctioning bodies have no authority to tell the public who the champion is."  Whether you like Max or you hate him, he is right because all of these sanctioning bodies are in it for themselves; they will do whatever they can to make the most money.  Why did Kelly Pavlik get charged $25000 for a NONTITLE fight by the WBC?  Why did Leavander Johnson (RIP) get billed with his sanctioning fee by the IBF while he was on his death bed in the hospital?  Why does the WBA recognize a "super" and a "regular" champion in each weight division?  Why does the WBO have mandatory challengers that have never fought more than 8 rounds?  Why does the IBF strip its fighters like band-aids for not fighting bums as mandatory challengers?  I could go on and on about all of the money-making schemes of the sanctioning bodies, but it would take up too much space.  

The only thing I disagree with is that you have The Ring listed among the other titles.  Whether you agree with them or not, you have to admit that they are a cut above the rest because they do not strip their champions or have worthless mandatory defenses.  The only way that you can lose The Ring title is by retiring, losing it in the ring, or moving to another weight division- the way that it USED TO BE and the way IT SHOULD BE.  Furthermore, the Ring's champions are considered the true champions in their respective weight divisions because they beat the man that was previously the champ, and I have the utmost respect for that because championship linearity is one of the most important things in boxing today as it always was.  The Ring champs have earned their right to be called champion, which is why whenever I refer to titleholders in boxing, I call them just that- "titleholders" unless they have The Ring belt; then I will call them a champion because they have earned it.  And people can say what they want about Golden Boy owning The Ring, but their ratings are still done by an unbiased advisory board and their ratings are the only fair and truly unbiased ratings out of all the "world" titles.  They have given the fans a chance to differentiate the true champions from the paper ones and I applaud them for that.

Answer 4

That's a lot like demanding McDonalds and Burger King consolidate themselves.  

If you want a real improvement in the world of boxing, we need a boxer's union, led by a fighter with some real smarts, like one of the Klithczhkos, doesn't one of them have a phd?

Answer 5

I afree AND I agree  ;o)  There should only be 8 weight classes with one champion per, just like the old days.  The closest I see to that now is the rankings in the USA Today.

Answer 6

first and foremost I would eliminate this junior / super division as follows Strawweight 105 - 108 lbs, Flyweight 112 - 115 lbs, Bantamweight 118 - 122 lbs, Featherweight 126 - 130 lbs, Lightweight 135 - 140, Welterweight 147 - 154 lbs, Middleweight 160 - 168 lbs, Light Heavyweight 175 - 190 lbs, Heavyweight 200 - lbs, fighters will to qualify at the minimum weight and not exceed over the weight to compete in each class which means fighters have to stay in shape to compete in their respective divisions, this eliminates mismatches and force champions to maintain their weights, no non title matches, second have elimination bouts between WBA and WBC champions with the unified winners engaging the IBF champions for undisputed recognition. this also allows challengers / contenders to fight legitimate ranked opponents in these respective weight classes. champions are now forced to face legitimate world ranked opponents. a universal commission represented by each WBA, WBC, IBF, EBU, BBBC, OPBF, and USBA shall appoint by joint voting a 21 man commission 3 from each organization to monitor the activity of each weight class ranking. ranking from # 1 - 10 must be agreed upon by all 7 organizations, and all 21 represenitives. hows that for a start !