With his desire to move forward only for one title, promoter Eddie Hear drew attention to the problem of too many belts in boxing.
I think most people in boxing would agree with Hearer that there are so many titles that have gotten worse in recent years, especially those created below the world level.
“When you look at the UFC model that you all envy, it’s a promotional company, if you’ve interested, a belt, that’s where I want to get into boxing. “Every division fits a world title belt, but I can’t really see how it can be achieved.
Right now, we have four universally recognized World Cups – the WBC, the WBA, the IBF, the WBO, and all have quality fighters as their champions.
Four more? Maybe, yes, we can reduce it to two, but the way it was in the early 1980s, it would be a big breakthrough. But now that these organizations are established, I can not see how you can go from four to two. It seems that we have to approve four organizations.
There are WBF, IBO and IBC, but they do not see their champions as real world champions.
The same year, the WBU Ricky Hutton held that position and received numerous defenses, but it was only after defeating Costa Sue for the IBF belt that he was recognized worldwide as a true world champion.
If there is to be a way forward, it may be in conjunction with Ring Magazine, which throughout its history has nominated who has the right to hold their belt, and it remains as proud as ever.
For example, Tyson is the Fury Ring Magazine Heavyweight Champion, and Josh Taylor fought for the Ring Magazine Belt and defeated the Regis Program in an undisputed title fight.
We have to admit that having four world champions would weaken the meaning of the title in the eyes of the public, but at the same time, boxing fans generally know who the best person in the division is – or at least two who can be the best.
But if you can become a champion and give the ring magazine belt a high profile, it will help you figure out who is the best dog.
There is no doubt that the World Boxing Super Series has helped the sport, because it has brought the best together, and we have come out of those tournaments as undisputed or unified champions.
We need more WBSS and more integration competitions in the sport. There has long been a Cold War in which promoters don’t work together to make big fights, but thankfully it seems to be changing, especially as the top rank seems to be more and more flexible.
The whole problem of belts is below the world title level where it is really out of control. We now have WBO European titles, IBF European titles, new WBC franchise titles, silver titles, interim titles, and so-called global titles. Every fight in eight rounds seems to require a belt when not really needed. A belt needs real value, which is why the British, Commonwealth and EBU European titles still stand out.
The problem with the so-called WBO and IBF versions of the European title is that it confuses the public who think the title is not really the same as the EBU belt. There are boys who win WBO European titles and they could be out of the top ten in the UK. We need a reality check on the value of titles.
My partner Stevie Ward won the WBO European title, and while this victory helped him a lot, he does not call himself a European champion, I know that winning the British title means more. Yes, being in the 10th round for the WBO European Championship was a step in his career, but he kept things in perspective. I do not see why we need them, in fact they are often used only to easily cross the more difficult and glorious route of the British, Commonwealth and European titles.
I am very proud to have won the Commonwealth and European belts, and I want to win the WBO World Super-Featherweight title. I never called myself a ‘world champion’ when I defeated Nonito Donner and won the WBO Interim Featherweight title. All sports require integrity, and a few belts have to go, but of course there are permit fees whenever they are used.
As for the world scene, I think we should live with four world bodies – but the Ring Magazine Belt is the way to point out the king in every division.
Mick wants Isaac-Lee next
Michael Conlan ‘s plans have been thwarted by an ankle injury, but he is expected to return soon against former world super bantamweight champion Isaac Dogboy.
Dogbo is a good fighter, but I think his best is behind him. It may seem strange to think he’s 26 years old, but he suffered two bad defeats from Mexican Emmanuel Navarre at the World Cup, missing points and being stopped in the final round.
In the last fight he defeated my old opponent Chris Avalos but he is not the same.
Mick is heading for a world title shot, and I think it’s a good match to include MTK with Dogboy at this point in his career. He can learn from such an experiment and then move on to a world title in 2021.
A way to harm Honey
Devin Honey defends the WBC lightweight title against Uriorkis Gamboa this Saturday night and I hope he wins comfortably.
When it comes to the WBC belt line-up, we all know that Theofimo Lopez is the number one undisputed champion in weight loss – but Hani and Lopez will be a quality fight if they can build next.
It all depends on whether Lopez wants to stay in the lighter place or not.
If he moves up, I don’t want to hear a trash can about ‘ducking’ Honey.
Premier League salaries have gone up a lot
Every view of boxing can be controversial at times, and there is no doubt that some fights should not be on that platform, but the Premier League’s latest decision to charge $ 14.99 per match is a total insult.
TV companies and the Premier League seem not to be ashamed when he charges the working class to watch his favorite team.
Everyone agrees that you have to pay a subscription, but it’s disgraceful to pay such a price for 90 minutes of football – and does so in the current climate when thousands of people lose their jobs amid the corona virus epidemic.
At least with boxing you usually pay for world-class boxing, and not just one fight but three or four great matches, often with good expectations on the bill.
The Premier League takes fans for wides – they tune in perfectly to the BBC streaming of the Irish Premiership.
The NI bell rang for the girls
Congratulations to the Northern Ireland women’s team on their 1-0 win over Belarus. Success keeps them in the European Championship play-offs.
They showed the fighting spirit we expect from everyone who pulls the green shirt, and I hope we can take them to the finals.
Travel fan. Freelance analyst. Proud problem solver. Infuriatingly humble zombie junkie.
