Selling the Family Jewels
For so long the ‘Green Belt’ has been the pinnacle of boxing. History tells us that the greatest have fought for the WBC title. Heavyweight names, in both size and legacy. Liston, Foreman, Ali, Frazier, Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield, Spinks, Jones Jr, Calzaghe, Monzon, Hearns, Leonard, Duran, Canelo, Mayweather, Mosley, Pacquaio, Griffith, Leonard. The list goes on, a veritable who’s who of boxing have at one point held the WBC title. In a world where the waters are murky, the politics rotten and the belts plentiful, it has always been a standard bearer that separated the great from the very good.
Of course, over time as the sport has tidied itself up and looked to eradicate the ‘bung’ system that for so long dictated rankings, the WBC has evolved alongside its belt supplying brethren of the IBF, WBA and WBO. No longer will a fistful of dollars in a brown paper bag suffice. A quick scratch beneath the surface will uncover plentiful stories of belting organisation assisting certain fighters of certain Promoters throughout history. But when the heat got turned up too high, boxing cleaned up its act.
At least, it cleaned up the process. A proliferation of belts have entered boxing over the years. International, Silver, European, Regular, Super, Interim, Diamond. That’s far from the full list, but a sample of the titles that are regularly fought for under the auspices of the WBA, IBF, WBO or WBC. Like some cheapened deal in a supermarket, along with each title you get a free place in the ranking system. So now you no longer make the cash transfer to become a top 15 fighter, you pay for the opportunity. Hiding in plain sight? Perhaps. But at least we as fans start to know where we stand.
If we accept that winning a peripheral title earns you (rightly or wrongly) a place in the top 15 of the world at your chosen weight division, we can accept that these satellite belts are each a subsidiary of the ‘World Title’. Anytime we see a Promoter or hear an MC use the tagline of International, Continental, Inter-Continental etc, then we can paint our own picture as to ‘why’ that belt may be at stake. The winner gets to be amongst the hatchlings of the top 15, hoping that the mother bird will lean over and pick them to be fed next for that all-important world title payday.
But what happens when a governing body starts to work outside of its own system? Even by the already rogue standards of boxing (or as Lou DiBella so succinctly describes it, ‘The Wild West’), the WBC seem intent on taking the lead on destroying prestige. Not content with only recently introducing such belts to the sport as the Money belt (because Mayweather vs a debutant required a title on the line), the Diamond belt (because being a world champion simply wasn’t good enough), a Cinco de Mayo belt (because May 5th wouldn’t be the same without a trinket) and a True Hero belt (I’m not even making that one up, honestly) – the WBC are powering on further.
When Amir Khan decided the best way to bring peace between India and Pakistan was to fight the little known yet number one Indian welterweight Neeraj Goyat, the WBC didn’t waste any time in calling the belt manufacturers. The ‘Pearl Championship’ was conceived, a one-off title that would seemingly be fought for only the once. Best guess is that the WBC wanted their cut of the fight, their sanctioning fee. If there’s money to be made, it seems the WBC will find a way to do so.
With the unfortunate injury to Goyat, it seems we may never see the genesis and destruction of the Pearl Championship. Less than 24 hours after the car collision that left Goyat unable to compete, the WBC decided they too needed a crash site. It gave birth to the concept of a WBC Franchise Champion and promptly associated the title to one of boxing’s most recognisable faces, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
There are some obvious questions around this title, not least ‘why?’. The title itself, according to the WBC, “is exclusively by appointment of the WBC Board of Governors by a majority vote of the board”. That tried and tested route to being identified as the best in your division; a majority vote. In return for becoming Franchise Champion, Canelo has lost his title of WBC World Champion, which has been given to Jermall Charlo. What a great day for Charlo, the undefeated middleweight who has strived since a young age to hold that green belt aloft and declare himself the best in the world at 160lbs. To be handed the title via email I am sure met every expectation he had dreamed of.
What other benefits will Canelo reap from the upgrade? According once again to the WBC:
“The Franchise Champion will proudly represent the WBC in every single fight as a reigning WBC champion, regardless of any specific conditions or titles being associated with all future fights. WBC rules and regulations will govern under the traditional conditions of boxing in the Franchise champion fights. WBC will approve through the franchise champion promoter every opponent scheduled to fight.”
How can a man represent as “a reigning WBC champion” when his title has already been handed out to a potential future foe? Is there a belt that comes with being the ‘Franchise Champion’? Will we see other Franchise Champions within the weight divisions? Is this now the pinnacle of being a WBC champion, above the status of World Champion?
Those are just a handful of unanswered questions that surround this development. Good luck explaining to the casual observer of boxing what this new status means. Those fans who only tune in for the occasional fight, who might be familiar with the names of Ali, Tyson, Holyfield and now Canelo.
It is one more way to claw back the sanctioning fees. For Charlo, the WBC can now charge their championship sanctioning fees. For Canelo, they no doubt have their own agreement that a percentage of all fight fees will be fed back from the Franchise Champion. All those peripheral titles help boost the income streams too. Meanwhile a fanbase that, begrudgingly, can start to understand and in time accept that fringe belts mean rankings now must start to understand the latest development. No longer is that green belt the highest achievement within the WBC and maybe even boxing. A majority vote is the pinnacle. Unfortunately for fans, there is no voting system, no democracy.
The titles from all bodies will continue to evolve, the WBC are not alone in expanding their portfolio of leather. Where there are opportunities to extract money from a sport that, at the peak, is bathing in riches then be sure that those who hand out the titles will exploit them. Confusion of fans is a small price to pay in return for more sanctioning fees and enhanced relationships with both Promoters and boxers alike. By definition, a franchise is “an authorisation granted by a company to an individual or group enabling them to carry out specified commercial activities”. All of the prestige built and associated to the historic green belt, the WBC have traded in. They have sold the family continental, diamond and silverware.