One of those plans which were in my father’s notes will now be a reality. I must thank Stephan Pryor, son of legendary champion Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor, for bringing the concept and idea back – to award the boxing trainer who crowns a WBC champion with a belt.
The WBC designed and developed a special belt, inspired by the traditional towel worn at all times by boxing trainers.
Starting in May, the WBC will present this sensational award of honor. So many great trainers who worked side by side and created great careers for legendary champions will remain the inspiration for this new concept, including:
Charley Goldman, trainer of Rocky Marciano; Jack Blackburn, trainer of Joe Louis; Cus D’Amato, trainer of Mike Tyson; Jackie McCoy; Amílcar Brusa, trainer of Carlos Monzón among other great champions; Ray Arcel, trainer of Roberto Duran; Gil Clancy, Emile Griffith’s trainer; Don Pancho Rosales, trainer of Raul “Raton” Macias; Angelo Dundee, trainer of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and other big names; Emanuel Steward, trainer of Tommy Hearns and other great champions of the legendary Kronk Gym; Arturo “Cuyo” Hernández, trainer of great Mexican champions like Carlos Zarate, Ruben “Puas” Olivares, Lupe Pintor, and others.
WBC update of each division and its status: For clarity and transparency, the official convention ruling remains as published and is found in bold, followed by all activity which has happened within the division.
WBC QUARTERLY REPORT ABOUT CONVENTION RULING ON EACH DIVISION – OCTOBER 2017.
HEAVYWEIGHT: Champion Deontay Wilder will make his mandatory defense against No. 1 ranked Bermane Stiverne on November 4. The WBC concluded the process, according to its Clean Boxing Program protocol, for the adverse finding of Luis Ortiz, and has withdrawn its sanction of the Wilder vs. Ortiz fight. An official ruling has been sent to the corresponding parties. Specific details will be released at a later date.
Dominique Breazeale will fight a final elimination bout with Eric Molina the same card as Wilder vs Stiverne as he had a valid contract to engage in a final elimination for WBC.
Dillian White vs. Robert Helenius for the vacant silver.
· Deontay Wilder defeated Bermane Stiverne by KO1 on November 4, 2017.
· Dominic Breazeale defeated Eric Molina by KOT8 and won the final elimination fight on November 4, 2017.
· Dillian Whyte defeated Robert Helenius by UD12 on October 28, 2017 and won the vacant silver title.
· Deontay Wilder defeated Luis Ortiz by KOT10 on March 3 in New York, in a voluntaary defense.
· Dillian Whyte defeated Lucas Browne by KO6 for the silver on March 24 in London.
APRIL, 2018: WBC ORDERS A FINAL ELIMINATION BOUT BETWEEN DILLIAN WHYTE AND LUIS ORTIZ FOR THE SECOND MANDATORY OF THE DIVISION.
CRUISERWEIGHT: Champion Mairis Briedis is in the World Boxing Super Series, so his mandatory status depends on who emerges as the winner and will be addressed at a later date.
· Oleksandr Usyk defeated Mairis Briedis by D12 and won the cruiserweight title on January 27 in Riga.
· Maxim Vlasov defeated Olanrewaju Durodola by KOT10 and won the vacant silver title on February 3 in Sochi.
· Olexandr Usyk vs. Murat Gassiev – Saudi Arabia * fight has been postponed due to injury.
· Maxim Vlasov vs. Ilunga Makabu on May for the Silver.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Champion Adonis Stevenson is scheduled to make a mandatory defense against No. 1 ranked Eleider Alvarez in December. Number 2 Oleksandr Gvozdyk against number 4 Marcus Browne was approved as final eliminator and when we know the availability of Barrera, he will fight the highest available contender.
· Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs. Marcus Browne – final eliminator. The manager of Browne did not accept to participate.
· Oleksandr Gvozdyk vs. Sullivan Barrera for the Interim – purse offer Dec. 22. Barrera did not accept to participate.
· The WBC ordered Adonis Stevenson vs. Badou Jack voluntary May 19, as well as an interim title between Gvozdyk vs Amar.
· Oleksandr Gvozdyk defeated Mehdi Amar by UD12 and won the interim title on March 17.
· The winner of Stevenson vs. Jack to fight the interim champion with 65-35% split.
· Eleider Alvarez remains as mandatory challenger and will fight versus the winner of champions vs. interim champion.
APRIL, 2018: ELEIDER ALVAREZ INFORMED THE WBC THAT HE WILL FIGHT FOR ANOTHER ORGANIZATION.
SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT: Champion David Benavidez will fight a rematch against Ronald Gavril. This Saturday, No. 3 ranked Avni Yildirim is scheduled to fight No. 4 ranked Chris Eubank Jr. and Callum Smith conquered the WBC Diamond. Both Smith and Yildirim entered the WBSS and the WBC accepted to support such tournament. Mandatories will be addressed at the conclusion of the tournament with the winner being mandatory.
· Chris Eubank Jr. defeated Avni Yildirim by KO3 on October 7, 2017 and won the elimination fight in WBSS.
· Juergen Braehmer defeated Rob Brant by UD12 on October 27, 2017 and won the eliminator fight in WBSS.
· Benavidez defeated Ronald Gavril by UD12 on February 17 in Nevada, in a voluntary defense.
· Callum Smith defeated Niekey Holzken by UD12 for the Diamond on Feb. 24 in Germany.
· Azizbek Abdugofurov vs. Renold Quinlan for the vacant silver on May 5 in Uzbekistan.
MIDDLEWEIGHT: The WBC Board of Governors ordered a direct rematch between champion Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. Mandatory contender Jermall Charlo will fight an available contender for the WBC interim championship.
· Saul Alvarez was officially pulled out of the fight against Golovkin due to the adverse test results.
· Jermall Charlo defeated Hugo Centeno by KO2 and won the interim title on April 21.
WBC CHAMPION GOLOVKIN WILL MAKE A VOLUNTARY DEFENSE ON MAY 5th VS VANES MARTYROSIAN.
*WBC WILL SUPPORT THE GOLOVKIN VS ALVAREZ REMATCH IN CASE IT IS RESCHEDULED NEXT AFTER THE VOLUNTARY FIGHT OF MAY 5th THE WINNER TO MAKE THE MANDATORY DEFENSE OF THE DIVISION.
SUPER WELTERWEIGHT: Champion Jermell Charlo is scheduled to make a mandatory defense on October 14 against Erickson Lubin. The winner of the semi-final bout between No. 4 ranked Maciej Sulecki and No. 5 ranked Jack Culcay will then fight No. 3 ranked Vanes Martirosyan in a final elimination bout.
· Jermell Charlo defeated Erickson Lubin by KO1 on October 14, 2017, in a mandatory defense.
· Maciej Sulecki defeated Jack Culcay by UD10 on October 21, 2017 and won the semifinal elimination.
· Maciej Sulecki vs. Vanes Martirosyan final eliminator. Sulecki decided to fight for the title of another organization.
· Kell Brook defeated Sergey Rabchenko by KO2 and won the vacant silver title on March 3.
· Jermell Charlo vs. Austin Trout – June 9 in California.
WELTERWEIGHT: Champion Keith Thurman, who is recovering from an injury, is scheduled to return to the ring in January. Mandatory challenger Shawn Porter is scheduled to fight Adrian Granados on November 4 for the WBC Silver title.
· Shawn Porter defeated Adrian Granados by UD12 on November 4, 2017 and won the vacant silver title.
· Thurman will return in a voluntary defense in April.
· Shawn Porter mandatory.
· Victor Ortiz defeated Devon Alexander BY MD12 in an eliminator fight on February 17 in Las Vegas.
· Danny Garcia defeated Brandon Rios by KOT9 in a final eliminator for the second mandatory, on February 17 in Las Vegas.
· Qudratillo Abdukakhorov defeated Laszlo Toth by UD12 on March 17 in Malaysia and won the vacant silver title.
· Jessie Vargas and Adrien Broner drew in an elimination fight on April 21 in New York.
APRIL, 2018: KEITH THURMAN HAS RELINQUISHED HIS WBC TITLE. THURMAN WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO FIGHT FOR THE WBC TITLE ONCE HE HAS FULLY RECOVERED AND IS FIT TO RETURN.
WBC HAS ORDERED SHAWN PORTER VS DANNY GARCIA FOR THE WBC WORLD TITLE.
SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT: If champion Terence Crawford vacates the title, No. 1 ranked contender Amir Imam will fight No. 3 ranked Jose Carlos Ramirez for the vacant title. No. 2 ranked Regis Prograis will fight No. 4 ranked Viktor Postol for the interim title and then both winners to fight each other with a 50-50 split.
· Josh Taylor defeated Miguel Vazquez by KO9 on November 11, 2017 in a defense of his Silver title.
· Amir Imam vs. Carlos Ramirez – March 17 – New York for the vacant title.
· Regis Prograis defeated Julius Indongo by KOT2 and won the interim title on March 9.
· Prograis must fight the winner of Imam-Ramirez fight with a 50-50 split.
· Josh Taylor defeated Winston Campos by KOT3 in a defense of his Silver title on March 3 in Glasgow.
· Jose Carlos Ramirez vs. Regis Prograis for the undisputed title – purse offer May 4 with a 50/50 split.
LIGHTWEIGHT: Champion Mikey Garcia is scheduled to fight Diamond champion Jorge Linares for the undisputed lightweight championship.
· Yvan Mendy defeated Jesus Arevalo by KO8 on December 14 in Paris for the silver.
· Mikey Garcia and Jorge Linares are granted to have a voluntary defense of their titles.
· Jorge Linares fought Mercito Gesta on January 27, 2017 but he did not defend the WBC Diamond title.
· Mikey Garcia defeated Sergey Lipinets by UD12 in a special event on March 10 in super lightweight division.
· Jorge Linares and Mikey Garcia must fight next – free negotiations started on March 12.
· Linares did not accept to participate and relinquished all rights in the WBC.
· Zaur Abdullaev defeated Deiner Berrio by UD12 and won the silver vacant title on April 22.
· Yvan Mendy vs. Luke Campbell final eliminator fight – purses offer May 27.
MIKEY GARCIA WILL FIGHT IBF CHAMPION IN AN UNIFICATION BOUT.
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHT: Champion Miguel Berchelt is scheduled to make a voluntary defense against Orlando Salido in December. No. 2 ranked Francisco Vargas and No. 3 ranked Jhonny Gonzalez are scheduled to fight in a final elimination to determine the mandatory contender.
· Miguel Berchelt was injured.
· The WBC ordered Miguel Roman vs. Orlando Salido on December 9, for the interim, but in a very strange situation Salido camp pulled out of fighting a championship fight but only a 10-round over the weight fight against Roman.
· Miguel Roman in a great performance knocked out Orlando Salido and requested the WBC to recognize him as mandatory contender of the division.
· The Board of Governors voted in favor to name Miguel Roman as mandatory challenger of the division.
· Miguel Berchelt defeated Maxwell Awuku by TKO3 in a voluntary defense on February 10 in Cancun.
· Miguel Roman is mandatory challenger.
APRIL, 2018: BERCHELT WILL MAKE A VOLUNTARY DEFENSE ON JUNE 23 AND THE WINNER MUST MAKE THE MANDATORY DEFENSE NEXT.
FEATHERWEIGHT: Champion Gary Russell is scheduled to fight a voluntary defense and mandatory contender, Joseph Diaz, next. That will be mandated for around May.
· Russell vs. TBA voluntary.
· Gary Russell vs. Joseph Diaz mandatory, May 19 in Maryland.
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT: Champion Rey Vargas is scheduled to fight mandatory challenger Julio Ceja, who won a final eliminator. No. 2 ranked Diego De La Hoya and No. 3 ranked Hugo Ruiz will fight in a final eliminator.
· Julio Ceja defeated Breilor Teran by UD12 and won the silver title on November 25, 2017.
· Rey Vargas defeated Oscar Negrete by UD12 on December 2, 2017 in a voluntary defense.
· Rey Vargas vs. Azat Hovhannisyan – voluntary – May 12.
· Rey Vargas vs. Julio Ceja mandatory.
BANTAMWEIGHT: The WBC Clean Boxing Program still has to rule on the findings on a positive test for champion Luis Nery. No. 2 ranked Emmanuel Rodríguez will fight in a final eliminator against No. 3 ranked Petch Sor Chitpattana.
· Luis Nery vs. Yamanaka ordered.
· The WBC ordered the final eliminator between Emmanuel Rodriguez and Petch Sor Chitpattana, but Rodriguez decided to fight for the title of another organization.
· Nordine Oubaali defeated Mark Geraldo by KO7 on December 16 in Paris for the Silver.
· Luis Nery lost the title on the scale and KOT2 Shinsuke Yamanaka on March 1 in Japan.
· Nordine Oubaali vs. Petch Sor Chipatanna for the vacant – purse offer April 27 50/50 split.
SUPER FLYWEIGHT: Champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai has requested a voluntary defense before his mandatory fight against Juan Francisco Estrada.
· Srisaket Sor Rungvisai defeated Juan Estrada by MD12 in a mandatory defense on February 24 in California.
· McWilliams Arroyo defeated Carlos Cuadras by MD12 and won the Silver title on February 24.
FLYWEIGHT: Champion Daigo Higa is scheduled to fight Thomas Masson in a voluntary defense on October 22.
· Daigo Higa defeated Thomas Masson by KOT7 on October 22, 2017 in a voluntary defense.
· Andrew Selby defeated Maximino Flores by UD12 on October 7, 2017 and won the elimination.
· Daigo Higa defeated Moises Fuentes by KO1 on Feburary 4 in Naha, Japan, in a voluntary defense.
· Cristofer Rosales defeated Daigo Higa, who lost the title on the scale, by KOT9 on April 15 in Yokohama.
LIGHT FLYWEIGHT: Champion Ken Shiro is scheduled to fight No. 1 contender Pedro Guevara, with the winner to fight Ganigan Lopez. It was approved that Hekkie Budler fights against number 3 or 4 for the vacant Silver title and then to make a final eliminator and fight for the title after the mandatory.
· Ken Shiro defeated Pedro Guevara by MD12 on October 22, 2017 in a mandatory defense.
· Gilberto Parra defeated Leyman Benavides by KOT4 on November 18, 2017 and won the vacant silver title.
· Ken Shiro defeated Gilberto Pedroza by TKO4 in a voluntary defense on December 30.
· Ken Shiro vs. Ganigan Lopez – mandatory – May 25 in Tokyo.
MINIMUMWEIGHT: Champion Wanheng Menayothin is scheduled to make a voluntary defense in November. The No. 1 ranked contender, Leroy Estrada is the mandatory contender
· Wanheng Menayothin defeated Tatsuya Fukuhara by UD12 on November 25 in a voluntary defense.
· Wanheng Menayothin vs. Leroy Estrada mandatory – May 2, 2018 in Thailand.