From Dan Rafael of ESPN.COM/BOXING


"The WBA is at it again. Not too long after it finally sorted out its disgusting cruiserweight mess of having three so-called champions in the same weight class, the banditos are at it again. Last year, if you recall, the WBA listed three titleholders in the cruiserweight division: David Haye as "super champion"; Virgil Hill as "regular champion"; and Firat Arslan as "interim regular champion." Finally, Arslan beat Hill and we're back to "only" two titleholders. But now the WBA is looking to screw up the junior bantamweight division by perpetrating another atrocity on the boxing public by giving us another three-titleholder weight class. This time the lineup will include unified titleholder Cristian Mijares (the "super champion"); the winner of the July 26 vacant "interim regular" title bout in the Philippines between A.J. Banal and Rafael Concepcion; and the winner of the Sept. 15 vacant "regular" title match in Yokohama, Japan, between Nobuo Nashiro and Kohei Kono. Are you kidding me? I beg, I plead, for WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Sr. to stop the madness, but he won't. He's too busy collecting sanctioning fees. That's what this is all about and it's an absolute disgrace and a farce. And you wonder why boxing is such a joke to some people? Welcome to exhibit A."