Ripping the Sanctioning Bodies

The proceeding blog will be my first such rant on this site against the major sanctioning bodies that attempt to govern the sport of boxing around the world, but I assure you, it won't be the last. Nor is the International Boxing Federation, the target of today's rant, alone. It will be joined by its friends as the weeks, months and years go on, I assure you.

I don't enjoy talking about boxing politics rather that the fights and fighters themselves, but it's a necessary evil when considering the state of the sport as it exists today. Make no mistake by their claims of being non-profit organizations that are looking out for the safety of the fighters and the integrity of the sport, each one is in business to make money for themselves. That's the bottom line. That's what drives each to make stupid decision after stupid decision that further drive away the possibility of attracting new fans to a sport with an aging fanbase.

Let me start by saying I'm not totally in accord with those who choose to lend credence to the championship policy of The Ring magazine. It's better and more sound than the sanctioning bodies, but their policies are a little flawed too. I love The Ring's non-biased rankings and its idea of creating one true world champion for each weight class, but right now the sport and those involved with it are too ingrained in the current sanctioning body system that change is very slow moving.

My overall opinion on the sanctioning bodies are that they've ruined the sport. The laundry list of corruption and mismanagement could take hours to read, and none of the four major sanctioning clowns are exempt. Personally, you'll never hear this writer call a fighter a "world champion" because he owns one of these title belts. You become a world champion by being the best fighter in a division by beating the best fighters in that divisions, not by the decisions of people like Gilberto Mendoza, Jose Suliaman and Marian Muhammad. Ruslan Chagaev is the WBA heavyweight champion, and that's it. He's no more the heavyweight champion of the world than I am.

Nor do I think it's prudent to deny or downplay the significance of the belt, because that's sticking your head in the sand and not paying attention. Fighters, managers, promoters, television networks and even journalists use the multiple titles for their own good, as well as the other way around. Those who claim that certain excellent fights might never take place without the presence of the alphabet belts are correct. TV networks love promoting "world title fights", and most of the time they ignore whether such claims to "world championships" are on the up-and-up.

For most fighters, winning a belt is the pinnacle of such careers. Future Hall of Famers like Roy Jones and Oscar De La Hoya loved collecting title belt hardware in their primes. But let's not be fooled. For most, the most important thing about winning a belt is that it will potentially lead to bigger paydays. A fighter making $20,000 on ESPN2 can grow to making $200,000 on Showtime because of the presence of a belt. Yes, being the one, true undisputed champion in a division can lead to pay-per-view main events and purses in the millions, but that's a dream that only a select few can realistically hope for, and it's proven that being a pay-per-view fighter is more often determined by being an attraction that having any particular championship.

What all have done is devalue the word "champion" and the prestige that once came with it. An alphabet title is a prop or a stepping stone to bigger money fights, and that's it. It's no more prestigious that winning a regional NABF or USBA title used to be in the 1970s and '80s.

The harm comes from what it does to the fans, or more seriously, potential fans.

In 2001, Don King went through a lot of trouble to stage a middleweight championship tournament, featuring the three "major" sanctioning body champions - Bernard Hopkins, William Joppy and Keith Holmes and the prize of King's stable at the time, junior middleweight two-belt holder Felix "Tito" Trinidad. We all know the result of the tournament - Hopkins destroyed Trinidad in the championship fight at Madison Square Garden two weeks after the 9/11 tragedy to become the undisputed middleweight championship.

Two months later, on the undercard of the Lennox Lewis-Hasim Rahman pay-per-view heavyweight rematch, also promoted by King, Joppy, who was brutally knocked out in the fifth round of the tournament semifinals by Trinidad earlier in the year, fought Howard Eastman for the vacant WBA middleweight title. And when Jimmy Lennon Jr. handled the introductions before the fight, he said it was for the middleweight championship of the world. HBO analyst/watchdog Larry Merchant called it on the carpet for what is was during the fight, a farse and an insult to the intelligence of the fans.

But because of the ridiculous "super champion" policy developed by the WBA and others, the WBA title was declared vacant, and top contenders Joppy and East fought for it that night.

If a marginal boxing fan attached himself and got juiced to the middleweight unification tournament, he would have rightfully recognized Hopkins as the undisputed champion. But what happened if he bought that PPV? He would be confused and if he was smart, he'd shake his head and talk about how corrupt and what a joke the sport of boxing was for allowing such a thing to happen.

In a nutshell, that's what the sanctioning bodies have done to boxing and boxing fans time and time again. And they really don't care.

It's a joke. Boxing is a great sport featuring the best and most dedicated athletes in the world. It's an insult that it's come to what it is today. And as a true fan and a journalist who considers himself responsible, I won't let such injustices pass without calling them out on the carpet.

-Todd Thorpe