What happened to the WBA

[Lance Uppercut]

The WBA title was the only recognized title for nearly 40 years, and now it seems to be the least credible of the 3 major belts.

Bad decision making that lead to the WBA’s decline:

1) Striping Muhammad Ali of the WBA title in 1965 and giving it to Ernie Terrell. And remember this was over 2 years prior to Ali being banned from boxing.

2) Not recognizing Larry Holmes as heavyweight champ, at any time in the 1980’s.

3) After Lennox Lewis beat Holyfield to Unify the Heavyweight Championship, they stripped Lewis of the WBA belt and gave it back Evander Holyfield (because he beat John Ruiz)

4) During Lennox Lewis’ reign as the universally recognized heavyweight champion, the WBA recognized John Ruiz as champ.

5) After Valuev won the belt on a dubious decision he went on over a year fighting bums, and loosing to the first decent fighter he had to face.

[LegendBoxing65]

actual what surprises me is how the WBO has been around for almost 20 years and the champions are somewhat recognized. Hamed was champ there for awhile wasn't he? And Calzaghe. The WBO has to be a recognized belt now.

[Lance Uppercut]

The WBO has come along way. I rank the credibility of the titles as follows:

1) The Ring
2) WBC
3) IBF
4) WBA
5) WBO
6) IBO

[LegendBoxing65]

The WBO has come along way. I rank the credibility of the titles as follows:

1) The Ring
2) WBC
3) IBF
4) WBA
5) WBO
6) IBO

I would rank the same just leaving the IBO out of it. I think the 4 belts WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO are now the real belts.. I figure the WBO has to be legit now after 19 years.

[CutMeMick]

As far as how todays day goes.
I agree with you two in the order you listed them. (Except for the IBO belt)

But let's be honest here they have ALL at one point or another done some wack ass shit! wether it was stripping a fighter for some stupid reason or their rankings.

Take the highly regarded WBC belt (some of you already where I'm going with this) how long has Pongsaklek been the champ. he was suppose to fight Arce to clear up that whole 'Interim' shit! the fight never materialized. Hes been fighting a bunch of nobodys and is getting away with it.

The IBF they strip JMM of his belt for no apparent reason other then no one bid for his fight. OK so you strip the guy of his belt
They then (IBF) not recognize Baldomir as the champ. after he beat Zab cause th IBF didn't get their pay cut from the fight.

And to sum it all up even more what about all that nonsense the IBF, WBA and WBO pulled off on Dariusz when he beat Hill.
What a crock of shit! that was....
That shit is sooooooo fucken stupid it will make you laugh.....

[amat]

What did they do to Dariusz?

[CutMeMick]

And to sum it all up even more what about all that nonsense the IBF, WBA and WBO pulled off on Dariusz when he beat Hill.
What a crock of shit! that was....
That shit is sooooooo fucken stupid it will make you laugh.....

Found it.... Read the following and try to make some sense of it...

- The fight was originally planned for April 5, but was postponed first to April 19 ("to get an appropriate site" according to IBF president Robert
W.Lee), then moved again to June 13.
- On March 7, 1997, a federal judge Dickinson R. Debevoise of U.S. District Court at Newark, N.M., ruled that the IBF must give its leading
light heavyweight contender a title shot by July 19 or face a fine because it harmed the fighter by breaking its own rules. Under the ruling, No. 1
contender William Guthrie had to fight the winner of the April 19 match between IBF champion Virgil Hill and WBO champion Dariusz Michalczewski
within 90 days of the bout.
- On May 10, 1997, words of IBF president Robert Lee were reported in the press, that the IBF stripped Hill of his title because "we had to follow the
order of the court," which had ordered that Guthrie must get an IBF title fight by July 19. (Sources: The Washington Times, May 10, 1997; The
Washington Post, May 10, 1997; St. Petersburg Times, May 10, 1997; Houston Chronicle, May 11, 1997; Denver Rocky Mountain News, May 11,
1997; Los Angeles Daily News, May 12, 1997)
- After the fight it was reported that Michalczewski's promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl said: "Guthrie is Don King's man and we don't want to do any
business with him." Kohl has said he is hoping an arrangement on juggling title defences can be worked out with the WBO and WBA.
(Sources: Glasgow Sunday Mail, June 15, 1997; The People, June 15, 1997)
- Thus, the IBF title was declared vacant.
- Immediately after this fight, Michalczewski also was stripped by the WBA for holding the WBO belt together with the WBA belt.

[amat]

- Immediately after this fight, Michalczewski also was stripped by the WBA for holding the WBO belt together with the WBA belt.

That is the dumbest thing I have ever read. CC for finding it. Woooww.....

[Mark TKO]

exactl - The Ring has by far the most credibility but its only the real fight fans that know it at the moment

Hopefully in years to come the alphabet boys will fade

[Drago]

MAB did a good job not paying the fees & ditching titles

[The Rookie Fan]

And what the hell is up with this hole Super Champion crap?

[amat]

And what the hell is up with this hole Super Champion crap?

Bilbo informed me of this a while ago. I think it was when Mundine was champion and Kessler the "super champion", I could be totally off but I think that was the case.

I rue the day when boxing has digressed so far that instead of "unification" fights digress so far from the days of the welterweight and middleweight titles being unified to the day there is a WBA unification bout, to see who is the REAL WBA champion. It's absolutely shameful, can't believe they got away with that.

[Preme]

And what the hell is up with this hole Super Champion crap?

Bilbo informed me of this a while ago. I think it was when Mundine was champion and Kessler the "super champion", I could be totally off but I think that was the case.

I rue the day when boxing has digressed so far that instead of "unification" fights digress so far from the days of the welterweight and middleweight titles being unified to the day there is a WBA unification bout, to see who is the REAL WBA champion. It's absolutely shameful, can't believe they got away with that.

when a fighter holds two or more belts the WBA will class them as a 'supr champion' and then release the regular WBA belt back...

I.E when kessler beat mundane he won the WBA belt, when he beat buyer he became the WBC champ and WBA SUPER champion.

Taylor was/is the WBA super champion too...

[The Rookie Fan]

And what the hell is up with this hole Super Champion crap?

Bilbo informed me of this a while ago. I think it was when Mundine was champion and Kessler the "super champion", I could be totally off but I think that was the case.

I rue the day when boxing has digressed so far that instead of "unification" fights digress so far from the days of the welterweight and middleweight titles being unified to the day there is a WBA unification bout, to see who is the REAL WBA champion. It's absolutely shameful, can't believe they got away with that.

when a fighter holds two or more belts the WBA will class them as a 'supr champion' and then release the regular WBA belt back...

I.E when kessler beat mundane he won the WBA belt, when he beat buyer he became the WBC champ and WBA SUPER champion.

Taylor was/is the WBA super champion too...

Fine call him a super champion, coll him grand champion, coll him high king of the WBA for all I care. But don't go around giving some other guy a tottally bogus title and call him WBA champion too. I mean if I were the "Super Champion" I'd be pissed if there was some other guy calling himself a WBA champ and holding a belt I had to spill my blood to get and they just gave it to some contender who didn't deserve it.

[Lance Uppercut]

The WBA currently has 3 Crusier weight Champions.

Jean-Marc Mormeck is the WBA Crusierweight Super Champion
Virgil Hill is the WBA Crusierweight Champion
Firat Arsian is the WBA Crusierweight Interim Champion