Good article about Alphabet Gangs

I found this on Ringtalk

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL
30 April, 2008 by Brian Gorman



Pittsburgh, PA- The four major boxing sanctioning organizations (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO), which recognize our “champions,” are comprised of members “of absolute integrity and neutrality.” Don’t believe that?
IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Just ask them, or at least the WBC (World Boxing Council) , whose brain trusts have made that proclamation in their Rules and Regulations. (Note to the authors: Rules are not intended to serve as a warranty; that’s why they’re Rules.) In fact, of the several problems in the sport, the absolute mess these entities have caused ranks at or near the top. Though any critic who suggests that the “fleecing four” have any interest in cleaning up their mess will be seen as a naïve master of the obvious, perhaps listing their misdeeds can serve as the flapping wings of the butterfly who causes the tidal wave.

WHO’S THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL?

Probably the IBO (International Boxing Organization), which ranks fifth out of a possible four in terms of organizational importance, as evidenced by their middleweight champion Daniel Geale, who they rank 21st in the division. The four big boys, on the other hand, all have serious flaws in terms of organization, rules and rankings. Like the major league baseball players’ union, only the most public, severe embarrassment would mandate material change, along with pressure from those that matter. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is happening, as boxing powerhouses like the HBO Network continue to perpetuate championship myths, such as their promotion of Steve Forbes as a “former (IBO-IBF) champion” for his Saturday fight with Oscar De La Hoya. Call upon your rebellious reserves or, if nothing else, your ability to suspend disbelief, and join me in throwing the gauntlet at the four families of crime in this short list of what they must do for the sport.

1) THE BASICS: ONE CHAMP PER DIVISION

I’m not even referring to unification… yet. As a display of their audacity and lack of accountability, the alphabets many times recognize more than one titlist per division within their own organization. The WBA (World Boxing Association), which claims supremacy due to its seniority (dating to 1921 as the NBA), is the worst offender, somehow making room for “super,” “interim,” “undisputed” and “world” champs (Huh? Are we competing against another universe?) all within the same weight classes. Its champions Joe Calzaghe (175 lbs.), David Haye (200) and Nate Campbell (135) all must share their championships despite major, definitive wins this year. The WBA should also explain just how Yuriy Nuzhnenko enjoys an “interim” title at 147, as this is the same class as its model champ Miguel Cotto, and how it sanctioned an interim title defense this month of Nuzhnenko’s “title” against a non-entity named Irving Garcia (16-3-2, 8 KOs), who is unranked by all other bodies and ranked 108th at welterweight by BoxRec.com. The WBA also gouges more sanctioning fees from its stable by the existence of four regions, the NABA, EBA, PABA, & Fedelatin. The WBO (World Boxing Organization), which was supposedly formed 20 years ago due to the WBA’s nonsense, not only makes Campbell share his belt with “interim” champ Joel Casamayor, it also calls Oscar De La Hoya a “Super” champion at junior middleweight (154), despite the fact that he lost in his only defense of his title. Simply put, alphabets, if you cannot have one champ per weight class, and one champ only, disband. Go away. Enough’s enough.

2) DON’T GIVE UNIFICATION LIP SERVICE

The IBF (International Boxing Federation) at least does the best job of that, stating that the “WBA and WBC World Champions will be considered above rated fighters for the limited purpose of unification.” Too bad, however, that it doesn’t practice what it preaches – it appears that Antonio Margarito will have to vacate his welterweight belt despite just having won it and meeting WBA titlist (kind of; see above) Miguel Cotto on July 26. None of the big four rank the others’ titlists, meaning that a unification policy and practice is essential in order to try to establish the exact opposite of what we currently have: 17 weight classes that include zero unified champs and recognize 66 different belt holders, an average of 3.88 champs per weight class. In a sport where individual stardom is so important to its exposure and corresponding success, is there any wonder why boxing is no longer mainstream? At least the IBF does have a stated unification policy – the World Boxing Council, run by brash dictator Jose Sulaiman, places those competing for another body’s title or “contracted to fight” for another as “not available.” Moreover, the IBF contradicts its own unification policy by also categorizing those who compete for other titles as “unavailable,” requiring demotion or removal from the rankings.

3) READ YOUR OWN RATINGS BEFORE YOU EAT

Please tell us what high schooler wrote the WBC’s Ratings policies. First sentence, no kidding: “Ratings are largely subjective.” Next subsection: They “are primarily based on merits.” What else could they be based on, looks? Go further down: “The decisions taken by the Ratings Committee are based on consensus.” As some of our posters might say, WTF?!! Andre Berto (147) is a fine young fighter, but he is not the number one contender in the sport’s premier division. The same lad must have written the WBA’s ratings guidelines, and their rankings smell even worse. Consider only one example: At welterweight, “Sugar Shane” Mosley stands as the sixth rated contender, behind no one at an open number one; Luis Collazo, whom he dominated just last year; Nelson Linares (15-0-1, 8 KOs); Frederic Klose (41-6, 8 KOs), who lost in his last outing; and Jan Zaveck (24-0, 14 KOs). Some of the WBO’s number #1 contenders include Juerghen Braehmer (168); Gary Lockett (160); Willy Blain (140); and Pramuansak Posuwan (115). If the other three alphabets should get an “F” for a rankings grade, the IBF should receive an “Incomplete” – half of its number one and two contender slots are vacant.

4) DON’T THINK YOU’RE UNTOUCHABLE

If there’s one thing we boxing fans know, it’s that anyone can be beaten. Roy Jones (Mr. Unstoppable) has been stopped twice. Mike Tyson’s career exploded. In fact, the thought of the “unbeatable” going down gets our juices flowing. Many of us could care less about your belts or your rankings; we just tune in to see the two best square off. It’s time for some changes. This butterfly just flapped his wings. Maybe some others will flap theirs.

Ring Talk :plthumbsdown:

Too many racists in that website.

Actually it was the first time I ever went on the site, and I only did because it was linked to maxboxing. I didn't know about the racist stuff.

decent post (would rep you lance but its quite pointless as i have no punching power!!)

This has been a long running joke in boxing for years now, too many "interims" "mandatory" "linear" for the average fan to get his head around.

Wonder how long it is before ring magazine champion becomes the ultimate prize in boxing due to the incompetence of the organisations!!