Wow, the WBC really has principles now with this McCline thing. But wait, did Lennox keep the WBC belt frozen for almost a year after he beat Vitali?
It does not matter. 10 months is nothing. Jack Dempsey and James J Corbett both went three years without defending their titles. The only thing that matters (THE Heavyweight Championship) has been vacant for three years anyway, and has not had a championship fight for four.
I don't know, but I'm pretty sure Vitali kept the belt frozen for almost two years (Sorry, I don't count Williams as a real fight), and the WBC had given Vitali ANOTHER extension on his mandatory after the fourth postponement of the Rahman fight, which would have meant that Vitali could have held the title for almost 27 months without fighting a mandatory or being stripped if he hadn't retired. It's hilarious that you took issue with Lewis' inactivity, but not Klitschko's. And somehow, nuthuggers would have us believe that we're indebted to Vitali for the excitement he brought during his "awesome" title reign.
I could give a **** about the shape that piece of **** was in after the fight. 16 years ago, when the WBC had scrupples, they refused to sanction a fight between Holyfield and Bert Cooper, who had a ranking similar to Williams' did going into his fight with Klitschko. Off topic, it kills me how much the WBC/HBO/Ring Magazine bent over to accomodate Vitali as the man in the division. I thought he was the best, and it's a shame that he got injured before a decent title defense sould come off, but he just didn't prove it in the ring. Then, you have this legion of ****ing cretins here who have the audacity to start ranting about American bias and "anti-white racism" in boxing just because the Ring and the rest of the boxing establishment don't make the same mistake of just heaping praise on Wlad because he "seems" to be the best without it being earned in the Ring.
... I must of missed that day Senor Suliman is as corrupt as they come. He is only intrested in making money and has done nothing but harm to the sport. He was found out by Rocchigaiani and yet is still allowed to soil our sport. It is parasites like him who ruin the sport for todays fans; to give him just a little bit of credit is like saying Hitler had his benefits to the Jewish people.
Jose's corrupt, but it's not like the other boxing orgs are shining beacons of truth either. Bob Lee ring a bell? Anyway, the whole line from the WBC was : "...as the WBC heavyweight title can not continue being frozen after 10 months of inactivity, and at least for four more months for the recovery of the injured champion Oleg Maskaev. Which means 14 months, not 'just' 10.
No he did not. Lennox Lewis was the last great Champion of the WBC with making mandatories and other defenses of this title. The only Champion right now, is Wladimir Klitschko. He also makes his mandatory and did not pull out of fights.
I don't agree with naming Peter the interim champion before the fight. But I do agree that a Peter and McCline should fight for the interim title. The delays have been killer. As much as I respect Maskaev, enough is enough. The fans and the WBC have a greater interest in seeing a title fight now...further, Maskaev will still get the opportunity to claim his title when he is healthy after this fight. This is a fair decision, minus crowning Peter the champ without a fight.