Los Angeles, CA-It’s ironic that Floyd Mayweather wouldn’t pay sanctioning fee’s in his battle against Shane Mosley (46-7-1,39 KOs) for the WBA (World Boxing Association) welterweight (147 lb) crown 16 months ago, but elected to pay sanctioning fee’s this time around in his fight against Victor Ortiz for the wretched World Boxing Council (WBC) version of the title. I guess Floyd likes those green belts huh? That’s really besides the point though. Although the main events outcome was controversial, the undercard featuring future Hall-of Famer and Mexican legend Erik Morales(52-2, 36 KOs)
ERIK MORALES-WORLD CHAMPION IN FOUR WEIGHT DIVISIONS*
battling for the “vacant” WBC super lightweight (140 lb) crown against an untested but determined challenger in Pablo Ceasar Cano (22-1-1, 17 KOs) was also controversial in nature. Morales as some remember put up a gutsy performance in a losing effort to Marcos Maidana (30-2, 27 KOs) by majority decision April of this year, yet it was a losing performance nonetheless. Morales and his opponent did nothing to earn a shot at the belt, and even worse the title was stripped from champion Timothy Bradley (27-0, 11 KOs) who last fought in January of this year.
“MISS WBC” IS ONLY THING TO LIKE ABOUT THE SANCTIONING BODY
The only thing to like about the WBC
To make this situation more laughable, the “Mexican” based sanctioning body had the title up for grabs and if Morales won it would make him the first Mexican to win titles in four different weight divisions. As many remember they pulled the same fiasco last year when Manny Pacquaio fought Antonio Margarito for the WBC 154 lb title at a catchweight of 150 lbs. The victory for the Filipino gave him a title in his eighth weight class. Looks great on paper but in reality it’s a complete farce to anyone who knows the history of boxing. Shortly after the victory Pacquiao relinquishes the title and guess who gets an opportunity at the vacant belt? Another Mexican! This time it’s none other than potential superstar, but in reality just a really good prospect in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (38-0-1, 28 KOs, who’s already a star in Mexico) who faced a career welterweight and an undeserving challenger, Ricky Hatton’s brother, the limited and less talented Matthew Hatton (42-5, 16 KOs).
WBC HAS LOST MOST OF IT’S CREDIBILITY
Does the story stop there? No. Earlier this year linear middleweight (160 lb) king Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KOs) was stripped of his crown, and guess what happens next? Julio Ceasar “Son of a Mexican Legend” Chavez Jr. (43-0-1, 30 KOs) goes for the now vacant belt against interim titleholder Sebastian Zbik (30-1, 10 KOs). According to Boxrec.com’s computerized rankings, Morales “after” the victory is ranked #20 at 140, Chavez to his credit is ranked a more respectable #10. However both titles were earned by stripping champions who earned the titles in the ring and hadn’t had long stretches of inactivity warranting being stripped of their belts in the first place. This all stinks like cow dung! This didn’t take place over the stretch of several years, this has all occurred with the last 12 months!
-Kevin Perry