I think the having to win a fight decisively to become the champ only really matters if the Champ is

a) at home
b) has a reasonable following
c) has a high-profile promoter in the region the fight is being judged.

otherwise there's a good chance they'll be happy to stiff the 'champ'.

I've seen a lot of people espouse this frankly ridiculous theory over the past week, ironically the same people who would almost certainly not have applied it the night Ricky Hatton fought Luis Collazo (which I had Hatton edging 114-113 thanks to the KD, but hey I'm not giving the Champ all the close rounds for being the champ).

Another example of the Champ not getting the breaks in this way, Oscar De La Hoya vs Pernell Whitaker. See the 3 points above & then find me an example that breaks that.