This content is protected It's no secret that I have a personal crusade against the proliferation of alphabet belts, the constant conflation of the terms world titlist and World Champion, and most of boxing's junior/super divisions. This is an example of why. Because of the WBO's recent acceptance as a "world title" and a fringe acceptance of the IBO, DAZN and others shoehorn in accomplishments that were not regarded highly during a fighter's era. When Hearns won the WBO trinket at 168, the belt was seen more as a prize for European fighters and certainly not on par with the WBA, WBC, and IBF. Michael Moorer has received the same revisionism in recent years, with people regarding his 175-pound run as having some historical significance when Moorer kicked the belt to the curb because it was '******ing his career'. The IBO had even less clout at the time, so there's no use commenting there. We now live in an era of hyperinflation, where Artur Grigorian's 17 defenses of his WBO strap can be compared to Duran's 12 lineal defenses (as Bad Left Hook did); where Deontay Wilder's 10 WBC defenses can be shown against either of Ali's runs (as PBC and Fox did); where Michaelczewski's 20+ defenses of the WBO trinket can be viewed as somehow better than Bob Foster's 14; where "regular" defenses are set against "full" titles and "full" titles against lineal; and where people get retroactively labeled "world champions" without context, as is the case with Hearns. In today's game, we have more hyperbole and less substance than ever. Hearns is one of my all-time favorites and his legacy stands on who he fought and how he fought them more than the list of alphabet belts he acquired. Blasting Duran, taking Leonard to the limit, decisioning Benitez, going to war with Hagler, outboxing Hill, and crushing Cuevas--doing so over the course of three traditional classes that spanned a total of 28 pounds in separation (147-175)--is a testament enough to his stature.
It was bad enough before but it all went **** up when the WBO started getting recognised. European at most.
Yes. Many of the writers for those publications were around for the IBF's integration into the "world title" mix and saw how it made the sport more confusing. With the advent of the WBO and the saturation of "regular", "interim", "champion in recess", silver, gold, diamond, and other belts, we are in a far greater state of chaos.
