Boxing

Mr Irrelevant · **Joined:** Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:25 pm **Posts:** 22635

25 years ago this would have been huge news. A British boxer fighting for the WBA World heavyweight title this Saturday night. In this case I only came across it accidentally.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/7179677.stm

Mr Ripper · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:48 pm

WBA aint one of the proper titles though is it?

GroovyCrimes · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:50 pm

Yep.WBA is 2nd or 3rd in rank along with IBF
WBC is the top title.
WBO is the 4th,after that nothing else counts

Mr Ripper · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:52 pm

MadJohn wrote:

Mr Ripper wrote:

WBA aint one of the proper titles though is it?

Hardly. It only proves you are the heavyweight champion of West Brom. Winner has to fight John Hartson.

Mr Irrelevant · **Joined:** Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:25 pm **Posts:** 22635

GroovyCrimes wrote:

Yep.WBA is 2nd or 3rd in rank along with IBF
WBC is the top title.
WBO is the 4th,after that nothing else counts

Essentially there used to be two, The rest are irrelevant really even today. I would argue that the IBF is still ranked well below the WBC &WBA. The WBA is by far the oldest and the original world body (1921) although it could be argued that the WBC is older as it took over the IBU (international boxing union - formed 1901) The IBF and the WBO didn't turn up until the 1980's.

It was the WBA that stripped Ali of his world title for refusing to go to Vietnam and the Frazier/Ali fights were for both the WBC/WBA titles.

So yes, it is a real world title.

GroovyCrimes · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:08 pm

My main gripe with the WBA is that after all the work that went into getting the heavyweight titles unified with the Lewis v Holyfield fight they stripped Lewis on his first defence & let Holyfield fight Ruiz for a vacant title stpid

Mr Irrelevant · **Joined:** Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:25 pm **Posts:** 22635

Don't get me wrong, I never said I liked them. They are all as crooked as a a football agent. The WBC is run by Mexicans who do what Don King tell them and the WBA is run from Panama by Venezuelans who do what Don King tells them to do.

Every last one of them is corrupt to the core.

Mr Irrelevant · **Joined:** Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:25 pm **Posts:** 22635

chip fireball wrote:

scraping the barrel calling skelton a boxer like.

he has to be quite possibly the least entertaining fighter on the planet. if he is the best heavyweight in the world then dibble could probably claim to be the 2nd best.

the reason the fight has generated no publicity is because he is shiit.

Agreed but then so was every other British heavyweight who challenged for the title - apart from the Canadian of course.

GroovyCrimes · **Posted:** Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:59 pm

Matt Skeltons a likeable bloke,but I have to agree his fights are never entertaining.
I do hope he wins tomorrow night though.

Boxing

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