By Dominic Panaia: There is only one thing worse than the misinformed information revolving around the boxing world today and that is the misconception that one belt or title if you like will fix this sport we live and breathe.
In order to keep moving forward with the dynamics of the sport and create a world where great matchups exist, boxers got what they wanted and the fans were happy is something I can’t help with and neither can you. Even if we tried we wouldn’t be able to offer any great advice but what I can do is help with the reasoning behind it all. There are currently 4 major world titles circulating the boxing world the two oldest of the four belts the WBC/WBA and the two belts that came along some Twenty year later the IBF/WBO titles all prestigious in their own right but with a top ten different from the other it makes for havoc in the world of professional pugilism that’s without mentioning the IBO and the other less considered belts circulating.
Some might say UFC is in better shape with the fighters under the UFC banner however it couldn’t be further from the truth, the UFC don’t have nearly as many fighters and this is because of the one belt title scenario people are asking for in boxing. The UFC is one big promotional company picking and choosing who they seem they want in the octagon, people see this as they always fight the best but it’s far from a true statement. It might be all a little over whelming for some folks however its not as clear cut as it seems to get rid of some titles and only fight for one or two and the answer is quite simple as to why.
Let’s say for instance the WBC/WBA merged and the IBF/WBO did too then this would make it clear that the two major titles available would need to cull some one hundred fighters from its ranks and in turn upset a lot of fighters. I mean who is to say he is better than him and so on if many of the fighters have never gotten a chance to fight a better fighter. Then there is the added nightmare of fighters fighting today 2 times a year, what if one fighter gets both belts who is number 1 contender? which belt will they fight for? the top 10 will be dramatically different
The NBC deal with Al Haymon has been a great effort by all involved a step forward in order to bringing boxing back to every household the day of Wide World of Sports Howard Cosell would be gleaming again with people watching boxing big fights. The lesser fighters getting exposure and showcasing their craft to everyone not just the households that can afford the high PPV fee charged at this time. You may ask what this has to do with World title belts and so on and the answer is simple it has a lot to do with it.
People today are not in tune with the workings of the boxing powerbrokers the power a Promoter has on the small things in negotiations and the power that major networks like HBO & Showtime can wield in pitting great fighters together. I mean to say people are upset that Floyd Mayweather may never fight Manny Pacquiao however this is just hype, the fans want the fight but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get done. To go on and say Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao will have their legacy tarnished if they don’t face each other is rubbish if this was the case we wouldn’t know who Aaron Pryor was or Alexis Arguello as whilst they may have fought each other they didn’t end up fighting Haggler, Hearns, Leonard or Duran whilst all ruled in the same era one or two weights apart.
If we didn’t have the extra belts and titles moving around we would simply be in a sport that only fights for titles twice a year maybe not at all as the top ten would be fighting most of the year to see who is ready for the champion. This is the reason Roberto Duran was fighting guys with 7 fights while he had 50 or so under his belt, the same reason Ali fought Spinks after Spinks only had 7 fights to his name because they have to stay busy and they have to fight someone. If the champion got injured there is no title fight and this is where the promoters wield this power they sanction fights under different belts and hype a fighters credentials in order to sell them as a major attraction.
We become faced with fighter like Amir Khan that are so happy to fight for the bigger purse rather than see the IBF title sitting in his own country as the bargaining tool he needs. If Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao face off then the winner will own three of the four major belts on offer leaving Kell Brook with a chance to unify the division in one fight against the winner of Floyd and Manny.
This doesn’t sit well with anyone however this is what boxing has become in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and the early 80’s we had great rivalries and today we still do, I mean the Oscar De La Hoya, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Mosley, Hatton Marquez and Cotto rivalry has been great we can’t help it that Mayweather and Pacquiao were to good and didn’t lose to these fighters. If Roberto Duran hadn’t beaten Sugar Ray Leonard in their first encounter it would be hard to recognise Duran as a great I mean he lost every major fight he ever had to all the better opposition. Yet we place him above Mayweather an Pacquiao to the extent that we even ask Duran who would win if he fought either and he said in an interview he would beat them both and then we print his answer as proof. Roberto Duran whilst a great fighter lost to all the other champions in his era I am not sure how he could have beaten the two champions of today’s era.
In the end it really doesn’t matter anyway but it shows that having all these belts and titles we have now has had a major impact on the boxers we see today. We see fans ridiculing Robert Guerrero and his resume asking for Thurman to fight better quality as Guerrero has beaten no one of note but who has Thurman beat really. Simply fighting Mayweather isn’t enough to be considered a good fighter, we forget that Robert Guerrero is two time world champion and that alone is the reason he got a major fight with Floyd Mayweather all be it a tune up for Canelo but a worthy contender none the less.
When we look at the talent today and in the 90’s we see a fabulous list of champions never before in any era have we seen this many great fighters in oone era and this is because more fighters are getting an opportunity to showcase their skills on the big stage. They are always fighting for something and even a lesser title brings in some great talent if they were in the older times they may never have gotten an opportunity to fight at all. There was only room to accommodate so many fighters like the UFC has there are some really good fighters in MMA but they cannot get a chance in the UFC to show what they have.
I am not defending the amount of titles out there but there does need to be some thought in your opinion if it revolves around simply changing to one or two titles to stop all the false hyped fights we see today.
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