By John F. McKenna (McJack): In a move that defies any kind of logic the WBA has created yet another title. When Wladimir Klitschko defeated WBA champion David Haye in July and took his title the Klitschko’s held all the heavyweight titles. In their infinite wisdom the Caracas based WBA made the decision to upgrade Vladimir to the level of “Super” heavyweight champion and then declared his WBA title vacant.

I must admit that when I first read that Rusian Chagaev and Alexander Povetkin were going to compete for the vacant WBA heavyweight championship, I was a little confused. I’m sure a lot of other boxing fans were confused as well. Then the reality hit me as to what had happened.

Elevating Wladimir Klitschko to the level of “Super” champion and declaring the regular heavyweight championship vacant gave the WBA the opportunity to stage a championship match for the regular championship.

Of course what this action by the WBA accomplishes is to open up another source of revenue for the powers that be in the WBA. Over the last twelve months this is the second time that a sanctioning body has elevated a champion in similar circumstances.

Alexander Povetkin and Rusian Chagaev are clearly the beneficiaries of this latest action by the WBA. Povetkin withdrew from a title shot with Wladimir Klitschko in 2009 when it was decided by trainer Teddy Atlas that he was not ready for a fight with Vladimir.
Atlas decided to bide his time until another opportunity presented itself.

Evidently Atlas’s forbearance has paid off. That is not to say that the fight between Povetkin and Chagaev will not be a good one. It almost certainly will be an entertaining match. But the action by the WBA further diminishes boxing. It drives one more nail into the coffin of a heavyweight division that is on life support through no fault of either of the Klitschko’s.

Wladimir Klitschko is an extraordinary champion as is his brother Vitali. They are both dominant and extremely successful at what they do. Some boxing fans perceive the Klitschko’s dominance and the way they achieve their dominance as boring. More and more boxing fans however, are coming around to accept the reality of how good they really are.

To kick Wladimir Klitschko upstairs as it were, to Super heavyweight and then to declare the title he won less than two months ago vacant is ridiculous. Its absurdity is reminiscent of the story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. The Emperor was the only one who did not realize that he was not wearing any clothes. Apparently the WBA sanctioning body too, does not realize how silly their actions have become.