TalkingBoxing Articles
When Titles Mean Something
FRI October 28, ANDRES CARRIEDO - Recognition among the sport’s elite is what all boxers strive for. Titles and wins over world class fighters help boxers obtain their sought after recognition. In theory, those wins should also lead to greater opportunities, however, with the proliferation of title belts coupled with the squeeze on television dates things do not necessarily work like that. A number of current titlists’ careers have stalled during their title reigns.
WBC and WBA Cruiserweight champion Jean Marc Mormeck has fought twice in the last 30 months – including a unification title fight against Wayne Braithwaite. Even though he is the universally recognized cruiserweight champion, his career has stalled dramatically over the last few years and he currently does not have a fight lined up. He appears to be a victim of his division’s pitiful history and the accompanying distinct lack of interest by the fans. For those reasons, the television networks are not bending over backward to get him into their timeslots.
Another champion whose career is in neutral is regular WBA Middleweight titlist Maselino Masoe, who has yet to defend his title though he does have a defense against Felix Sturm scheduled for November 26th. His appears to be a case where title proliferation led to the indifference toward his belt. Only now that a notable fighter, Felix Sturm, wants a bargaining chip and route toward enforcing a mandatory against the true champion does the regular WBA Middleweight title gain any significance.
Then there are little known champions and (in Travis Simms’ case) former champions who don’t have enough clout to line up opponents who may be angling toward bigger fights. The list is long: Simms, Daniel Santos, Vicente Mosquera, Wladimir Sidorenko, Luis Perez and Omar Narvaez. They have all been inactive for extended periods of time and have no title fights scheduled.
There are other champions, like Vitali Klitchko and Chris Byrd, who have been painfully inactive during their titles reigns.
Because of the plethora of titles, virtually every world class fighter believes he deserves a title shot. In many cases, it’s hard to argue the logic. However, we have to consider the implication that this has on the path toward a title. Wins in title fights do not necessarily translate to recognition among the sports’ elite or economic advancement.
So, the boxers who are unable to build a fan base prior to their title winning efforts have a much more difficult time of landing the coveted television dates and big paydays. This, in turn, leads to their inability to sign for big fights; which ultimately causes confusion about who the true champion is in each division.
So, it comes as no surprise that overlooked divisions like Flyweight, Super Flyweight, Bantamweight and Cruiserweight have some of the most inactive champions in all of boxing. Some have suggested that we do away with/disregard corrupt sanctioning bodies; some have suggested that we do away with overlooked divisions. I believe that the only solution to this problem of inactivity amongst titlists is the creation of an unbiased commission to oversee the ratings and force matches between belt holders.
That is the only way to eliminate the “high risk, low reward” rationale that keeps many quality titlists in the shadows of obscurity. Think about it, do we really want the image of the sport improved? Do we really want the best fighters to get their just due? The only solution that is currently on the table that has yet to be tried is the creation of a Federal (or, better still, an international) Commission. What do we have to lose?
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