Saul Alvarez vs Matthew Hatton for the WBC Light Middleweight title

[bzkfn]

Boxing isn't a meritocracy, and personally I'm ok with that.

Bilbo, honestly how can you be ok with fighters not getting what they deserve. Boxing is an unforgiving business, and really isn't helped by a corrupt sanctioning body that bypasses their own rankings just to attempt to give their belt to a Mexican? All they want to do is push Mexican fighters. My argument is not with Alvarez or Hatton, but with the WBC, for once again giftwrapping a title to 2 fighters who have done absolutely nothing to warrant a world title shot in this division. It saddens me that both you and Eric would accept this. As fans of Boxing, don't you want to see fighters earn their way to a World Title? If this was for a vacant 147 title, I'd have less of a problem, but what is the point of having weightclasses, rankings, elimanators etc. if you're just going to give 2 guys who are undeserving at the 154lb weightclass a free pass ove those who are winning elimanators? Fans accepting this is just going to lead to more bullshit from idiots like Suliaman.

[Kev]

Boxing isn't a meritocracy, and personally I'm ok with that.

Bilbo, honestly how can you be ok with fighters not getting what they deserve. Boxing is an unforgiving business, and really isn't helped by a corrupt sanctioning body that bypasses their own rankings just to attempt to give their belt to a Mexican? All they want to do is push Mexican fighters. My argument is not with Alvarez or Hatton, but with the WBC, for once again giftwrapping a title to 2 fighters who have done absolutely nothing to warrant a world title shot in this division. It saddens me that both you and Eric would accept this. As fans of Boxing, don't you want to see fighters earn their way to a World Title? If this was for a vacant 147 title, I'd have less of a problem, but what is the point of having weightclasses, rankings, elimanators etc. if you're just going to give 2 guys who are undeserving at the 154lb weightclass a free pass ove those who are winning elimanators? Fans accepting this is just going to lead to more bullshit from idiots like Suliaman.

I have to be honest I see boxing and MMA as entertainment. I just want to see the best fights get made, and belts, weight classes etc don't interest me.

I don't care about catchweights, I don't care about alphabet belts or anything else.

As I understand it this fight is to take place at 150 lbs, a weight Alvarez has fought at for his last few fights. He's only 20 so clearly is going to grow into a full junior and then middleweight fighter so makes sense he's moving up.

Yes neither he now Hatton has done anything to warrant a world title in that division, but since when has a belt had any meaning in a division? If you want to see who is the best fighter in a weight class look to the Ring Rankings, the belts mean absolutely nothing to fight fans and do not (and havent for decades) represented who are the best fighters in the division.

What having a world title will do for Alvarez however is give him an increased profile which is good for the sport, at least commercially.

Id' rather have guys like Alvarez and Gamboa being managed to artificially created belts than have fighters with no world appeal or interest hold them.

The lightweight middle division is currently a wasteland with no decent fighters. It seems that the WBC are trying to encourage at least one commercially viable exciting prospect there and to give him a belt, which is no bad thing.

As for Hatton vs Rhodes as an opponent. Maybe Alvarez doesnt want to weigh 154lbs just yet and hasn't grown into the weight so is going for a 147lber.

I don't really care to be honest, I have no purist attatchment to either weightclasses ro title belts, I just want them to bring Alvarez along and get him to have a decent marketable career.

I have no problem with the fight at all.

[Kev]

I should add a caveat here. I'm thinking like this because the light middleweight division as it stands is a mess.

With Williams and Martinez moving up, and Manny moving back down it's one of the most empty divisions in boxing with no recognised champions. Fuck K9 Bundrage is a world champ there!

So having a high profile fighter like Alvarez who could bring some excitment to the weight class move into it is a good thing.

I wouldn't support fighters going into a stacked weight class and getting a title shot ahead of legit stars but pragmatically in this case I don't see it as a bad thing to get a guy like Alvarez into the division with a belt and some marketing to make the division a bit more exciting.

At the end of the day boxing isn't like other sports. It's an event based sport where each big fightcard is like a movie release. We need big movies and Alvarez having a world title belt might help create that later in the year and in 2012 in the light middleweight division.

[TitoFan]

Boxing isn't a meritocracy, and personally I'm ok with that.

Bilbo, honestly how can you be ok with fighters not getting what they deserve. Boxing is an unforgiving business, and really isn't helped by a corrupt sanctioning body that bypasses their own rankings just to attempt to give their belt to a Mexican? All they want to do is push Mexican fighters. My argument is not with Alvarez or Hatton, but with the WBC, for once again giftwrapping a title to 2 fighters who have done absolutely nothing to warrant a world title shot in this division. It saddens me that both you and Eric would accept this. As fans of Boxing, don't you want to see fighters earn their way to a World Title? If this was for a vacant 147 title, I'd have less of a problem, but what is the point of having weightclasses, rankings, elimanators etc. if you're just going to give 2 guys who are undeserving at the 154lb weightclass a free pass ove those who are winning elimanators? Fans accepting this is just going to lead to more bullshit from idiots like Suliaman.

I like to see entertaining fights too... just like the next guy. But you make a good point regarding the WBC. I wouldn't mind too much if this favoritism they have were more subtle and understated. But it's not... it's blatant and insulting to us real boxing fans. Suliaman should've been removed from his post a LONG TIME AGO... all he's done is undermine the little credibility boxing has left in some circles.

I'm not saying the other organizations are head and shoulders above the WBC. But with Suliaman at the helm, the WBC might as well just put out a full-page ad:

"World title holders WANTED: (Non-Mexicans need not apply)."