George Kambosos Jr. picked up the World Boxing Council Franchise title at lightweight, with little of the boxing fraternity knowing what that means.
Since its introduction when handed to Vasyl Lomachenko, the continuation of the green and gold strap has caused constant bewilderment.
Many thought Teofimo Lopez was an entirely undisputed champion. Others thought two-time champion Devin Haney was the absolute ruler, having been given the honor twice outside the ring,
After defeating Lopez in New York on Saturday night, Kambosos got widely announced as the unified lightweight titleholder. Even Lopez himself admitted during fight week that he’s not the WBC champion.
So why do we have a Franchise belt in the first place?
The WBC thought they were bestowing a great honor on the likes of Canelo Alvarez, the first-ever recipient, and Ukrainian master Lomachenko.
But now the strap has been in circulation and held by some ‘lesser name’ fighters – fans don’t know where the belt stands.
That’s why WBN has now decided to remove it from the champions list. As with the WBA, when they had far more titles than needed, this is just another perplexity the sport can do without right now.
World Boxing Council Champion
Therefore, Kambosos will not be known as a WBC champion unless he defeats Haney. The same goes for Juan Estrada at super-flyweight. Estrada was the last man to get crowned a Franchise champion.
Before any further boxers get the honor, WBN wants to nip it in the bud. The strap will gain no significance in any future articles.
Kambosos is already the WBO, IBF, and WBA ruler. That will suffice until he gets Haney between those ropes.
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
