World Boxing News outlines a radical plan to streamline boxing weight classes while adding a new division for the huge heavyweight boxers.
Discussions have varied over the years regarding the age-old debate of too many world title belts in boxing. Not much gets said about the current boxing weights.
Therefore, WBN has decided to express how the sport can quickly move from seventeen to twelve divisional classes.
Firstly, there’s a cluster of lower weights – seven, from 105 to 126 pounds.
They are minimumweight [105 pounds], light-flyweight [108], flyweight [112], super-flyweight [116], bantamweight [118], super-bantamweight [122], and featherweight [126].
One way to combat this while removing ten title belts from circulation in the process would be to condense those classes.
Let’s begin with minimum weight and add five pounds to the lowest limit. Take away light-flyweight to eliminate two of the three-pound jumps.
Taking away the 112-pound and 118 categories means light-flyweight and super-flyweight disappear.
Keep bantamweight unchanged at 122 pounds to allow an eight-pound difference through the lower divisions instead of three.
Super Heavyweight
Lose super-bantamweight and go straight to featherweight at a higher mark of 130 pounds. A three-pound difference at lightweight [138] would round everything off nicely.
In time, boxers would get used to hitting those new stipulations.
For too long have those seventeen divisions given some boxers the chance to become three-weight world champions without the necessity of switching up their diet or training too much.
This cannot continue moving forward. The likes of Naoya Inoue and Manny Pacquiao would indeed have lost some of their accolades had these new weights been used from the off. But allowing boxers to move up just three pounds to win titles seems ludicrous in the current climate.
On top of this, if you still held a passion to go even further to improve the current climate, you could be advised to go right through to the very top.
There would still be twelve weight divisions, although it could prove much more challenging for the fighters. Moving eight pounds up will be more in line with MMA.
Middleweight, light-heavy, and cruiserweight wouldn’t be too different. But heavyweight would have a cut-off point to allow a new super heavyweight division for the likes of fighters towering above the others.
Heavyweight to be capped at around 230 pounds to allow this to happen. Bridgerweight would be back in the bin where it belongs.
That way, a super-heavyweight division would only be for those campaigning at 230 plus.
Then seeing fights like Tyson Fury vs Sefer Seferi would hopefully be a freak show of the past.
Here’s how it could work:
POSSIBLE NEW BOXING WEIGHTS:
Minimumweight – 110 pounds and below
Flyweight – 115
Bantamweight – 122
Featherweight – 130
Lightweight 138
Welterweight – 145
Super welterweight – 155
Middleweight – 165
Light heavyweight – 175
Cruiserweight – 190
Heavyweight [No Bridgerweight] 230
Super heavyweight – 230 plus
