We all know the alphabet soup organizations have a laundry list of ratings misdeeds. What are some of the worst instances?
Who was the dead guy what went up the WBA rankings? I posted it numerous times before but I forget. Jesus.
You know what, maybe the best example is the Graciano Rocchigiani stuff? He wins the WBC title (this is all from memory) then he gets stripped. What? Why I been stripped? Because Roy Jones wants his LHW title back. Ah, but the real reason is for the courts, you see, it was typo we stripped the old champ and named a new champ by box of in a type. Graciano sued We Be Crooks and We Be Crooks by all accounts very close to folding but Graciano settles last minute. A lot of people mourn this result. Not me. Something much worse would have sprung up in their place. This content is protected
During the '80s the WBA reached its peak of corruption. They were so totally in bed with South Korea that it was amazing how unashamed they were in - figuratively speaking - wheeling out one "No. 1 contender" after another from Seoul. Just think, Hi-Shup Shin, Tae Jin-Moon, Du-Koo Kim and Seung Ho-Lee all top contenders. Really?! You just knew someone was going to get hurt, and one did, in the instance of Kim against Mancini. Moon took a non-competitive lacing from Rocky Lockridge, Lee against Breland and Shin was probably the luckiest getting blown away in the first round by Santos Laciar. All #1 contenders. Again, the WBA had no shame.
The WBA had some headscratchers in the '80s The IBF had some horrendous ones in the 80's as well. I think Bob Lee of the IBF was busted later for selling rankings. Jack Callahan was somehow ranked highly by the IBF and got a title shot against Matthew Hilton Al "Bumblebee" Long got a shot at Simon Brown. The WBC, for all it's faults, seemed to have the best rankings of the three - except for overranking mediocre Mexican fighters. One example was Sergio Zambrano getting a shot at Roger Mayweather. Also, if a Mexican lost his WBC title, he usually had little trouble getting another shot in short order...and another...etc. Daniel Zaragoza and Jose Luis Ramirez were two favorite Sons of the WBC.
Turned pro at 38!! Most of his opponents had good records, but record alone doesn't tell the whole story.
Bob Lee...That's when Arum admitted to paying $100k in bribe money. I remember Pablo Baez, a Tommy Hearns victim, being rated. I believe his record was said to be one thing when he entered the ring, but then it turned out he was bordering on .500, or something like that.
