Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions could be set to launch their own version of a world title belt four years after initial reports began.
Social media is currently awash with the chatter of an imminent move by the PBC to gazump the rest of the current sanctioning bodies.
WBN initially asked the question when the PBC made their lone foray into the sport.
Haymon took his considerable stable away from Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. It’s a split that rocked boxing back in the day.
The name’ Premier Boxing Champions’ was controversial and led to fears when announced.
At the time, WBN asked World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman for his view on the possible threat.
Premier Boxing Champion belts
“The WBC has its priority to support anything good for the sport,” Sulaiman exclusively told World Boxing News back in 2015.
“The WBC has actively participated in developing the sport in many countries and in many ways. This includes developing TV network relationships to support the sport.
“Mexico is a perfect model to prove the great benefits of open TV. Millions of fans watch fights every Saturday night on three and sometimes four TV networks, so boxing in Mexico has flourished tremendously.
“The Premier Boxing Champions model has created great expectations with many different groups having opinions and has shaken the foundations of many of these groups.
“But the WBC will not rule or take actions on perceptions or gossip of any kind (regarding titles) of information which is not yet factual.
“The WBC board of governors has decided to be as supportive as possible to the PBC. They will do their best efforts to have boxing benefit from this series. PBC is only one of the many components of the boxing world.
“We at the WBC have certain rules which we are closely monitoring to ensure they are respected and adhered to by the promoters when a WBC title is at stake on PBC,” he added.
In what would be a similar situation to the UFC title, which uses its strap in-house only, any title would be exclusive to the PBC roster.
But what would this mean for the current organizations?
The WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA, and IBO would face the considerable threat of not being involved with any Haymon-signed boxers in the future.
Al Haymon in-house
Until we know more, it’s hard to speculate. It does seem that any branching out would have massive repercussions for a large portion of the current climate.
PBC holds many top stars, including Deontay Wilder, Errol Spence, Manny Pacquiao, Andy Ruiz Jr., and many more.
And would other promotional outfits then follow suit?
It’s another tough question to answer. But how would it then transpire if we saw a Top Rank title holder facing a PBC title holder?
Do they win a one-off strap and then keep their own title? – Or does this mean the end of PBC working with outside fighters?
There are far more questions than answers. It could be highly controversial if Haymon confirmed the move in 2020.
