Who is the present Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion? Does the title still carry any weight in Britain, and who are the top five contenders for the championship right now? Time was every boxing fan in Canada, Australia, Brtain, etc. knew who the Commonwealth champ was. It had a certain prestige. I remember getting really ticked off that oor George Chuvalo didn't get a shot at it. I remember Lennox Lewis owned it for a time. Sad to say, I don't know who has it now.
yeah the commonwealth champion was the original minor belt...it was half the world that you were champion of if you got it. it's still carries alot of wieght (in my opinion) becuase the triple chapion is a very big accomplishment i.e british, commonwelath and european belt
But on its own? Is there a Commonwealth boxing commission that sanctions title bouts and pressures the champion to defend against credible challengers. When was the last time, since Lewis, that a non-Briton fought for the belt? (Canadians still consider Lewis The Kitchener Thunderbolt) :think
For sure. One of the problems with the Commonwealth title is that the quality of contenders can vary hugely. Unknown fighters from uncelebrated boxing nations can "earn" the right to challenge, just by being decent by their own domestic standards. This can result in woeful mismatches which can discredit the title.
Probably the same here in Canada. I think it's more because of the anti-British feelings in the ridiculous province of Queebek that the Commonwealth championship lost most of its luster in Canada. That's why their three mediocre heavies haven't expressed interest in acquiring it. (In my version of Title Bout, South Afrika's Ben Foord is the present Empire/Commonwealth heavyweight champion, having won the title from Canada's Tiger Warrington. Right now Jack Petersen of Wales is the top contender.)
Agreed. I seem to recall Trevor Berbick defending the Commonwealth title against one or two questionable opponents.
Often the commonwealth title and the British title are on the same level but the British title is thought of a bit more favourably due to its prestige . There is a Commonwealth commision that forces credible defences and mandatories but because the standard is poor in some countries fighters of a low enough quality with a decent record can sometimes challenge for the belt .This is especially true of African fighters , although if they're from South Africa or Ghana(especially Accra) you can be usually fairly sure they will be decent . The last time a non Brit fought for the heavyweight Commonwealth title was Australian Bob Mirovic in 2004 . Skelton stopped him in 4 rounds . The following commonwealth champions are non British: Troy Ross(Canadian)-Cruiserweight Commonwealth champ Ali Nuumbembe(Namibia)-Welterweight Commonwealth champ Ajose Olusegun(Nigeria)-Light-Welterweight Commonwealth champ Jackson Asiku(Uganda)-Featherweight Commonwealth champ Anyetei Laryea(Ghana)-Super-Bantamweight Commonwealth champ Tshifhiwa Munyai(South Africa)-Bantamweight Commonwealth champ The vacant Commonwealth middleweight title is going to be challenged for by Darren Barker(England) and Ben Crampton(Australia)
go raibh maith agat! I see Troy Ross is scheduled to defend against Michael Steeds in London next month. You hear nothing of this here in Canada. Cap's Journal
Skelton is worth taking an interset in because he is the only heaveyweight we have that you could see doing some damage to the top competitors around the world, our others are all jokes.