Learning The Traditional Way
Published June 2, 2009 by Boxing Capital
ARTICLE BY CHRIS AKERS (CWA21@HOTMAIL.COM)
From the early nineties to the first half of this decade, British promoters have been using almost desultory blueprints to construct various paths towards achieving a world title shot for their fighters. This has involved Intercontinental belts from the four main sanctioning bodies and lower leagues baubles from organisations the calibre of the World Boxing Union, the World Boxing Federation and the International Boxing Organisation.
However, over the last few years there has been a shift in the direction of using the habitual paradigm of British, Commonwealth and European titles to help prospects develop the skills and knowledge they require in the hope of reaching the apogee of the sport. Most within the boxing have seen this as a positive and as a welcome diversion to the negatively of the splintered world titles that are grounded within the sport
The rules of these long established titles have changed since they were first founded. For example, a fighter holding anyone of the three championships must renounce the belts if they are due to compete for a world title. Yet, these rules have not diminished the prestige and acclaim that these titles are held in.
So what are the reasons for this? Well one reason is the promoters themselves. People like Mike Hennessey and Frank Maloney have taken it upon themselves to only develop fighters in their own stables using this tried and trusted method. Also television companies like Sky Sports will only now broadcast fights featuring prospects competing for one or more of the aforementioned belts.
As with everything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages and the ‘triple crown’ as it were, is no different. Using this itinerary to obtain world stardom enables the boxing cognoscenti to follow the progress of promising contenders via a tried and tested route and also allow any acolytes to gauge a fighter’s level of ability thus far. Plus it can help the audience learn and understand about the best domestic fighters in a particular division, as once a boxer has won one of the belts, attention will then turn to who the best contenders are for that title.
Yet in spite of the increase in quality over the last decade of fighters from Eastern Europe in the professional game, the gap between European and world level is vast. This is especially new for from the Lightweight weight class downwards. Promoters and managers have struggled in the past to connect the gap between these two echelons and that has lead to a fighter’s tuition been not of the required standard to go into a world title fight. Take the case of the former European Super Bantamweight champion Michael Hunter. Before he fought Steve Molitor for the IBF title, he defended his European crown three times against opponents who between them had an average record of 21-5-2 and neither of those opponents had participated against anywhere near world level before they took on Hunter. Suffice to say, Hunter beat each of them handily, but despite showing great heart, displayed a lack of tactical nous against one of the world’s best and was promptly stopped in five rounds.
Then there is the issue of money. While the coteries within the sport might take an egregious viewpoint on the minor baubles that are displayed as ‘world’ titles, the money they were able to generate was high as the fight could be commodified as a ‘world’ title contest. The likes of the WBU are also useful for promoters and managers, but not necessarily for the fans, as an alternative route to take if they do not want to match their prospects against other promising neophytes. This is especially true over the last twenty years due to an unbeaten record becoming a marketing tool and an Intercontinental belt is another way of a fighter maintaining it.
Also, the variety of contenders a promoter can acquire by using titles outside the traditional remit is panoramic. This is because fighters, who are the holders of these titles, are limited to the region the belt represents.
Yet overall, following the British, Commonwealth and European title route is in general a good thing for the sport. It allows the already educated and new fans of the sport to follow people’s progress and has a codified set of rules which are concise and are easy to understand. There has been a trend in the last three to four to use the Commonwealth belt as a more glorified version of the World Boxing Union title and that has been demonstrated via the low level of challengers that have fought for the championship. Hopefully this can be rectified and give the Commonwealth, along with the Lonsdale and European belts, the prestige and respect they deserve as fighters use them to coruscate towards a world title fight.
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