It’s no secret the World Boxing Association is trying to clean up its act. The sanctioning body is at the brunt of frustrations over title numbers.
From the inception of the “regular” world title belt to the mass of interim championships and the addition of the “Gold” title, WBA President Gilberto Mendoza got targeted for ridicule.
World Boxing News declassified the WBA earlier this year when they stripped Manny Pacquiao of his welterweight belt and allowed Bermane Stiverne to contest the WBA “regular” heavyweight strap against Trevor Bryan.
Since then, the pressure has built up. That’s until it exploded following the recent Gabriel Maestre vs. Mykal Fox abomination.
Racism and corruption were subsequently chucked into the mix with the title and rankings gripes to add further fuel to the fire.
In a bold and welcome move, Mendoza immediately scrapped interim championships. This scenario meant the likes of Daniel Dubois and Michael Conlan got stripped of titles they only just claimed.
Mendoza promised to give those former champions shots at the “regular” champions in place at the soonest convenience. Whoever had possession of the “regular” belts would be put forward to battle the “super” champion, the end game being one sole ruler.
The current list of champions shows 31 belt holders in 17 divisions, 28 if you count Gervonta Davis having trinkets in three divisions, and Erislandy Lara in two.
Of those 28, 16 divisions have “Super” titles. The World Boxing Association will match them against the “regular” rulers sooner rather than later.
Now, Davis and Lara will have to decide which division they want to compete in, meaning the divisions will drop to 13 of which need to get unified to one champion.
Of those 16 divisions, though, there are some tasty match-ups possible over the coming eighteen months or so.
WORLD BOXING ASSOCIATION ORDERS
Below are just four that would be a little more welcome than the others.
Roman Gonzalez vs. Joshua Franco
The Super-flyweight master Gonzalez facing Franco would be an exciting collision and a fan-friendly one to boot.
Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Brandon Figueroa
A super-bantamweight barnstormer pitting those two champions in the same ring has fireworks written all over it.
Teofimo Lopez Jr. vs. Gervonta Davis
Undisputed lightweight king Lopez vs. Mayweather’s protege Davis has long gotten talked about as a money-spinning Pay Per View.
Josh Taylor vs. Gervonta Davis
Again involving Davis, the three-weight ruler challenging Scotsman Taylor is a potential Fight of the Year in any twelve-month calendar.
