Long Reigning British World Champions

Belts used to be the leverage to sell the show.

Social media changed that a bit, because now fighters can leverage an audience over both a belt and actual substance. Even better if you’re a nepo baby with a famous name attached.

Time will tell where it goes though. It’s still a sport, so some kind of belt or trophy will always be the signal. Maybe Zuffa ends up forcing the change, because no one is more corrupt or bleeding the sport dry than the governing bodies.

 

A little harsh. Saying ' People like you ' is a bit presumptuous ( big word there ). If there are ' People like me ' then they would enjoy a champion having a long reign as I've said previously. Obviously I want to see the best fights but I also enjoy it when Britain has lots of champions.

 

To be honest, it depends what side of the bed Phil wakes up on. Half the time he's trolling, half the time he's talking sense.

I do get the point though. Where I am, if I leave the house and go left, within five minutes I'm in the city centre and opulence. Go the other way and you're deep in the trenches.

 

Think pretty recent fighter and really the more modern Steve Robinson FW, at 2 different weights, Ricky Burns SFW, LW.

Great run coming back after losing to Johanneson, wins and defends SFW title three times after, lightweight title wins defends it four times both WBO versions and dethroned by a fighter called Terrence Crawford, wonder what happened to him after?

Now with the crossover social media people involved would you rather get life changing money v one of them or graft for buttons and maybe a shot somewhere down the line.

Boxing always was a business, it's more so than ever and for the fighters they may think this money grab may not last so many are thinking path of least resistance for the most money.

 

2017-21 Taylor was special.

Wish he stayed with McGuigan.

 

I'd much rather see a WBO pretender face a legit challenger such as Cleverly-Kovalev or Loughran-Lopez than a streak of Ivanson Ranny Nelson garbage .

 

Also, two fighters there who got short-changed in different ways.

Robinson against Naz, after pretty much cleaning out the best of British as an unfancied underdog, and Burns losing everything he'd made up to that point when he left Warren for Hearn.

Crazy to think the average Championship player likely grosses more in one contract than either of them did their entire careers.

 

Poor old Eamonn, I’m surprised the accountants from Brentwood didn’t try and completely swerve that mandatory altogether. Beatdown inside 3 minutes.

Lopez was a top welterweight, as is anyone who can get a draw with Bazooka Quartey.

 

51 seconds to be exact . Lopez made it look effortless.

Imagine that; when the fight begins you're calling yourself a world champion alongside the great Pernell Whitaker, Trinidad, & Quartey, then literally within a minute you're completely exposed with a career in tatters. Loughran immediately retired at just 25! Lopez was indeed a beast as he also showed in his battle on a slippery canvas against James Page.

Duke McKenzie vs Rafael Del Valle was another absolute howler .

 

It certainly wasn’t his own book. It was Warren’s. Frank said that as every fight approached Calzaghe would ring up to pull out with some injury or other. Warren would then ring Joe’s dad to talk him around. He clearly wasn’t the most confident of fighters which I think makes him even better. He pulled out of lots of fights over the course of his title reign but he was a tremendous fighter, at times very very exciting and on occasion there were even ‘ shades of Sugar Ray ‘ about him.

 

The problem i see is when a brit picks up a belt it is usually a vacant belt or email belt after been protected from any real challenge so nowadays the champions are not seasoned and look to sell the belt to the highest bidder.
Fighters are so scared to lose the 0 on the way up that they dont take on any serious contenders that are any threat to them hence padding their record and losing against a random Mexican with a record 21 2 4 who has fought plenty of serious guys on the way up or scraping by said Mexican to then getting absolutely smashed up by the real champions.

 

Yeah, that sounds right mate.

Think Joe was bullied at school and maybe that stayed with him. Then add in the injuries, especially the hands, and getting through camp was probably half the battle.

But once he was in there, especially when it got uncomfortable, he always seemed to find another gear. Probably had a few more too, like all the great athletes do.