it states - "The only three occasions when a fighter will lose his championship status are when he retires, moves to another weight division, or is defeated in a championship bout..." and goes on to list joe calzaghe as ring champ at 2 weights :? http://www.thering-online.com/ringpages/ratings2.html .
Because he's stated he is not done with the super middleweight division. So they haven't taken the belt off him yet. Guys have held belts in more than one division at the same time before.
so...where is the point in stating the rule?...if a fighter had no intention of returning to a previous weight...he can just say 'i will' and hold on to the status a bit longer....he'll get stripped if he doesnt defend it...and how long does a fighter have to be inactive for before being regarded as 'reitred' ?
They rely on the sportsmanship of the titleholder. They have been in contact with Calzaghe, who has stated that he will most likely defend his 168 belt again.
He said he had intetions of defending the SMW title,if he retires then it will be vacant,it's not like there is somebody emerging that can be considered better than him at 168
They need to crown the winner of the Wlad Frankenstein/Andre the Giant/Fat Sam HW mess with a RING belt.
Joseph is a man of integrity , it showed in the manner of which he agreed to meet Roy Jones by a phone call.. Roy agreed and Joe honoured him by immediately sending him the due paperwork.. Roy paid testiment to Joe this week when on BBC tv.. saying not many fighters can be kept by thier word.. When Joe says he will return to the division and defend that title, its great that they don't strip him.. Joe has been very honorable to everyone he has worked with.. Great to see Ring Magazine standing by him on that... I do however feel sad that the Ring is no longer independent of any Boxing company or organization.. it was once revered for being completely seperate from any Alphabetic or Promotional company.. Now that GBP own it, it will soon be a little biased towards a whole section of boxing authorities.. I do miss Mister Fleischer and his methods..
it doesnt bother me...i am just curious...ring rules states... "a fighter will lose his championship status when he moves to another weight division" joe has moved to another weight division....
