WBC Lightweight Title is officially declared VACANT.

So with the news hitting that the WBC Lightweight Title is officially declared VACANT.

I don't really see too many clear answers on the different platforms I checked.
-Did Shakur state that he wasn't competing at 135 anymore and is staying at 140lbs?
-Is him being connected with rumors/call outs of welterweights Conor Benn & Devin Haney a factor?
-How is it that they are able to strip a fighter before any official announcement of the fighter's future plans and/or fight. They can't even negotiate immediately after a bout, but they can have their title snatched from them.....regardless of the fact that they just paid their fee for the title just months ago.

Too many situations lately have I seen a fighter put their health and life on the line to capture these titles only for it to be taken from the fighter almost immediately afterwards..... Meanwhile there are some fighters out here who have been babysitting their titles for years without it being snatch from them. Like Tank Davis, who hasn't fought a mandatory in 7 years.

 

No he paid his WBC fee for his last fight. On his IG he mentioned something to the fact that they are "trippin' with him because they have a problem with Crawford"...... I don't know how true that is, but he did expressed that he paid his fee for his last fight under the WBC.

 

I see what you are saying and I somewhat agree, but belts are accolades for this sport. They (are supposed to) showcase accomplishment of the boxers we support. Like a trophy in any other major sport. So they do have some value otherwise we are simply paying our money to see "Kimbo Slice fight someone in his back yard" on these cards.

I hate that the politics take away from the sport I love, but I've lived long enough to know that where there is $$, there's going to be politics.

 

One can make an analogy to Bivol and Crawford's situation, but it would be weak as both of those 2 deserved their status as well. To strip a fighter after he had just put in all of the work he did to accomplish a feat like becoming UNDISPUTED. Something that 99% of the fighters in history never accomplished.

It would make more sense if every sanctioning body had the exact same standard at which they lived by, but they don't and it allows them to move the goal post and look the other way as they see fit at times.

 

He didn't come in with a WBC 140lb title... How can someone charge you for a fight that didn't belong to them. That's like McDonald's charging me a fee to super size my Burger King meal just because I ate at McDonald's last week.

And I'm sure there's no legal contract associated with these titles/status, so there's no way for the fighters to dispute or sue in retaliation.

 

That's crazy, selfish, and greedy...... And not surprising. When I get a second, I'm going to see if I can look up their terminology on the duties as a title holder for them. I wonder if this is something just the WBC started doing, because I can't possibly imagine other fighters willingly choosing to do this without push back. And I don't remember other sanctioning bodies doing this either.

 

Believe me, I don't necessarily disagree with your logic, but the reality is, accolades in every sport is what helps to tell the next generation why that boxer was elite. We can't go by saying, this person was entertaining or "this many" people tuned in to watch this person fight....because at that point, guys like Jake Paul would be marveled on the same level as a Mike Tyson just based off popularity and TV views.

When boxers are announced, their record along with accolades that came with that record is stated before the name is said. The belts are SUPPOSED to mean a lot to the fighters and they do. But like you said they are mismanaged greatly because of the money and politics associated with them.

As fans we don't care as much but we shouldn't NOT care about them at all. Yes we want the product to be of value in the ring. But I will take a high profiled multidivision champion vs multidivision champ over 2 greatly hyped contenders any day.......