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Doubtlessly, Mr. Sanavia and friends are looking forward to his long and fruitful reign as the WBC's premiere super-middleweight.
However, I would not count on it. Far be it from me to pour cold water on a fine achievement, but a glimpse back into the history of this particular belt reveals some justification for my skepticism. You may want to label my observations as mere superstition, but before you do, at least hear me out.
Tracing the last eight years of the WBC super-middleweight title produces what is surely one of the most chaotic lineages ever seen. It all began in the aftermath of one of boxing's most devastating confrontations. Briton Nigel Benn, then holder of the belt defended it successfully against American Gerald McClellan. The fight was a brutal war, condemning McClellan to the heart-breaking life of disability in which he so sadly dwells. Victory was scant comfort for Benn, he was a spent force beyond that night and it showed as he surrendered the title to South Africa's Thulane 'Sugar Boy' Malinga in March of 1996.
That was merely the first of three successive guard changes during that year as Malinga lost the title to Italian Vincenzo Nardiello in the July, but Nardiello then failed to quell the challenge of young British fighter Robin Reid in Italy that October.
Reid managed to restore some clarity to the title as he marched through several defenses.
However, in a strangely subdued performance, he lost the title by unanimous decision and it fell back into Malinga's hands in December of 1997.
Malinga was a weary traveler indeed by the time he failed to defend the championship against Britain's Richie Woodhall by decision in England in March of 1998.
But Woodhall's reign lasted only until October of 1999, when he was out-boxed by German southpaw Markus Beyer.
The first year of the new millennium witnessed another bizarre run of events as Beyer was beaten for the first time, losing his title by technical knockout in front of his home fans at the hands of Briton Glen Catley.
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On the road again, the title was contested in December of 2000 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Not surprisingly, local fighter Dave Hilton knocked out Thobela in the twelfth round. Hilton was never able to defend the title; he was stripped of it because of his imminent imprisonment.
The title did not wander from Quebec though, as another local favorite, Eric Lucas challenged Thobela and successfully claimed it after eight rounds of their fight in November of 2001. Lucas then departed on one of the titles most dominant championship tenures. He was not parted from it until April of 2003 when he fell foul of a controversial decision to Beyer in Germany.
So you see Beyer's loss to Sanavia earlier this month is hardly a shock. The surprise will come if Sanavia is able to establish a run of defenses and make his name synonymous with a championship that seems reluctant to commit itself to a single bearer for too long.
Sanavia hails from Piove di Sacco in Italy and fights as a southpaw. His professional record tells of thirty-three wins against a single loss. Beyer aside, Sanavia's highest profile opponent is Morrade Hakkar, a middleweight who is best known for running circles around Bernard Hopkins, literally. Only twelve of Sanavia's victories have been executed before the distance, a statistic compiled chiefly at middleweight, which leads me to believe that he will not be a greatly imposing force at his new higher weight.
Further decreasing my hope for Sanavia’s cause is the fact that his championship counterparts are decidedly more physically threatening. Not the least of these is Australian Danny Green. The 'Green Machine' is the WBC’s interim champion, a rough customer who has dismissed all but one of his opponents by knockout, mangling both Beyer and Lucas along the way in their own territories.
Beyer escaped Green with his title by the very skin of his teeth thanks to an injury, forcing a decision on the scorecards in his favor. Green had bludgeoned Beyer to the canvas several times before this occurrence and the bitter remembrance of the loss may fuel Green into a scathing pursuit of vengeance for the title he believes should already be his.
Maybe Sanavia can finally diffuse the time-bomb title, maybe not, but one thing is certain, finding out will be compulsive viewing.
