Distinguished columnist Steve Kim exposes Ring Mag., lineal title

He picked up the WBA strap against Collazo, vacated the division, and followed up with two fights at 140. You think he deserved mandatory consideration at welterweight? Without fighting an eliminator, or even a second fight in the division first?

 

Like I said, ABC's make it way too easy strip a guy. RIng mag makes it a little too hard to strip a guy. Il take the latter over the former any day.


Its called "linear" for a reason, doesnt always mean the "best" - although it usually does. Simpley means he beat the man who beat the man. . . and Hops beat Tarver. He then fought a worthy challenger at 170 and is fighting the best 168 guy - it would be wrong IMO to strip him.

 

Yes, absolutely. My thoughts exactly.

The non mandatory - no retirement, fight who you want, change the rules if a marketable heavyweight from Europe comes along, rules of the ring belt are its major flaw.

Well, actually, its major flaw is something I've always said and is never acknowledged on this board.

It's very easy for the Ring to sit back, and rank people, and give belts away and maintain a 'wholier than thou' attitude as to who its champs are. Thing is, the Ring Belt is REACTIVE. They simply see what fights happen, and then adjust their rankings accordingly.

ABC's are PROACTIVE. They HAVE to create fights, force fighters to face fighters they may not want to, deal with the fighters, the promoters, the TV Networks etc.

The Ring has to do NONE of that. The Ring in actual fact, is not a lot different to the IBO belt, except one is done by people, and one by computer. That's about it really.

If the Ring had to assume the role of the ABC's, and actively create fight, and try and enforce mandatories, it would be no different to any of the other ABC's.

In fact, without the ABC's, the ring belt wouldn't exist. There'd be nothing to base their rankings on. By it's very design, the Ring belt is a parasite, and needs it's 'host' to survive.

The Ring may come up with better rankings than the ABC's. But that's because of the work of the ABC's that they can do that. They get all of the benefits of the ABC's work, with none of the down sides. Of course it should be better. They'd be a problem if it wasn't. But to suggest the ring could survive without the ABC's is ridiculous.

Hopkins could fight guys of the street until he's 60, and still be their champ.

 

Beats the hell out of me, and damned if I'm about to come to Floyd's defense.

I see your point Rams. But then again, even the WBA "superchamp" has to make a mando defense every 18 months. Maybe one year isn't fair, but the Ring has got to adjust somehow to the current state of the game, or at least find a way to get around the semi-retired, "legacy" fighters. If Hopkins announces his retirement at the Calzaghe post-fight presser, I'd like to see the Ring vacate him at 175 the next day.

If he unretires and beats the "man" at 175 again, then he can have it back.

 

Big difference.

I have no issue with the World champion of one division moving up and getting a shot at another World champion with no elminators or fights there.

I DO however have a problem with it filling a MANDATORY slot, when it clearly is an optional defense because the fighter hasn't moved up the rankings to achieve such status. Allowing it to be a mandatory means that fighters who have earned their shot by moving through the division are not getting a shot because they simply GAVE the fighter moving up in weight a mandatory designiation.

 

Ring had rankings and champs before ABC belts Sandman. So while I agree with it having a flaw, I don't agree with them being based on ABC belts.

 

Read it again. I said I have a problem with him filling the mandatory slot. Not being ranked highly. It should have been an optional defense. Not to mention, the situations are not the same. Castillo vs Mayweather for the Ring title was one fight, not one in a series of fights where the ABC champion has not fought a single fighter from his weight since winning the title and they mysteriously add a JWW as a mandatory so that the fighter is not stripped. Who was the #1 ranked fighter BEFORE Hatton was moved there, and where is his shot....oh yeah, it was Mosley, who was the interim champion and was due that shot AFTER the DLH match. But was turned down.

 

the WBC are the ones who changed the rules when a marketable heavyweight came from Europe, not the Ring

 

Stop altering the context of what I said. It should be an optional defense, plain and simple. And if you're gonna try and be sneaky with me, make sure you answer my whole post. The situations you used are not similar.

By the way, Mosley decided to fight Cotto AFTER Mayweather said he would not fight him and was going to RETIRE and BEFORE he signed to fight Cotto. Now, didn't they strip Casamayor for not fighting the interim champion? And they did so BEFORE he had signed to fight anyone else.