If you’ve ever attended a boxing match in person or watched one on TV and been confused about the belt that was being paraded around before a fight, don’t be ashamed. In fact, boxing organizations and promoters seemingly want to confuse the public in terms of what different types of titles are being fought for at any one time. There can be world championships, interim world championships, minor championships…at times it seems that there are more championship belts than there are professional fighters.
The reason that boxing organizations have so many different belts available for fighters is simple: it allows them to market as many fights as possible as being “championship bouts” and either get the attention of casual fans or charge additional money. In addition, fighters have to pay sanctioning fees if they are boxing in a “title” fight, giving sanctioning bodies another way to earn a few extra dollars. If you are just getting into boxing, it’s important that you understand what different titles mean and which ones are more important than others.
For example, the WBA currently has two world champions at lightweight: Juan Manuel Marquez and Miguel Acosta. The distinction is that Marquez is classified as the “super champion” by the WBA while Acosta is considered to be the “regular champion.” The WBA considers any fighter who unifies one of their titles with a belt from another organization to be a “super champion.” In Marquez’s case, he won the WBO and WBA lightweight titles when he beat Juan Diaz last February. When a fighter achieves “super champion” status, the WBA then creates a “regular” title that is also available – which is what Acosta owns. The WBA says that the distinction helps to give a path to a title for younger fighters; critics say that it waters down both belts.
There are other times when boxing organizations will have multiple champions within the same weight class. Some fighters have “interim” title belts, which are usually won in a battle between two top-ranked contenders when the main title holder is unable to fight. In some cases, the interim title holder can become the full champion by default (if the main title holder abandons his title because of injury, retirement or moving up to another weight class). In other cases, the “full” champion can be forced to fight the interim champion or risk being stripped of his crown. However, many organizations will let “interim” champions keep their belts for months or years and enjoy the benefits of being able to promote two different title fights within the same class.
Several organizations have invented belts in recent years that are not really world title belts but are not marketed honestly enough for fans to know exactly what they mean. For example, the WBC recently introduced the concept of the “Silver” belt to signify that a boxer is the mandatory challenger for a champion within a certain weight class (coming from the idea of a silver medal meaning second place in sports competitions). However, promoters use the idea of a fight being for a WBC Silver title as a promotional tool for many bouts without fully explaining the concept behind the crown. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s win over John Duddy in San Antonio on June 26 is one example of this.
In addition, every major boxing organization has several secondary titles meant to give credibility to younger, up-and-coming prospects. Some of these are regional, such as the WBA Pan Asian Boxing Association, the WBO’s European Boxing Union and the WBO’s North American Boxing Organization. Some championships, like the WBO Latino title, are about the fighter’s cultural heritage more than their actual geographic location.
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