In 1998, Roy Jones Jr. gives up WBC lightheavy title. German contender This content is protected and former champion This content is protected fight to fill the vacancy, sanctioning it as a world championship match and Rocchigiani wins. Jones then says "whoa momma" and wants to be re-instated. WBC tells Rocchigiani that it was a "typo" in their rankings saying Rocchigiani was their lightheavy champ. Rocchigiani immediately filed a lawsuit against the WBC in a This content is protected , claiming that the organization's actions both were contrary to their own rules and injurious to his earning potential (due to diminished professional stature). On This content is protected , This content is protected , the judge ruled in Rocchigiani's favor, awarding him $30 million (U.S.) in damages and reinstating him as a former WBC Champion (Rocchigiani had lost a bout since his WBC Title match). The following day, the WBC sought protection by filing for Chapter 11 This content is protected (i.e., corporate debt restructuring) in This content is protected . The organization then spent the next 13 months attempting to negotiate a six-figure settlement with Rocchigiani, but Rocchigiani did not at first accept. On This content is protected , This content is protected , the WBC announced it would enter Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation (i.e., business closing and total asset sell-off) proceedings, effectively ending its existence. This action prompted some in the boxing community to plead with Rocchigiani to settle the dispute, which he did in mid-July This content is protected . Would it have best for the WBC to have bit the dust???????
Good for us as boxing fans, but bad for the many boxers out there who held some sort of variation of a WBC title. Holding a title entitles a boxer to more income. Also the WBC along with the WBA are the 2 most historically significant titles. On a separate note, the majority of boxing fans whinge about the sanctioning bodies and how they are bring down the sport. Yet lately they seem to recognise and acknowledge the WBO as a legitimate title. Its pretty bull**** if you ask me. Its only really happened in the last 3 or 4 years and I believe alot of it can be traced to Lamon Brewster holding it at heavyweight when a large proportion of the boxing world was looking for a heavyweight champion. He appeared to be the best of the lot and was bestowed alot of status and in turn the WBO gained recognition. Its a ridiculous title and I am strongly against it gaining stature
The truth is people are stupid, they need Senor Suliman to tell them who is in his opinion the best fighter in a weight division is.
Its the hypocrisy of boxing fans. Boxing fans want their favorite fighter to be a champion, even if he hasn't earned that status in the ring. As a result, boxing fans well elevate any sanctioning body that recognizes their favorite fighter as a champion.
