The WBA continues to cover itself in glory

Just noticed this piece by the highly respected Eric Armit that is currently doing the rounds on the web. Further proof, if it were needed, of how desperately boxing needs a single, respectable governing body.

"Daniel Geale is rightly upset over the WBA taking away his title. He won their title in September and was stripped less than two months later for not fighting Gennady Golovkin. Not very even handed. Guillermo Jones won the WBA cruiserweight title in September 2008. He made one defence in February 2010 and a voluntary defence in November 2011. That’s now a year without making any defence, with Denis Lebedev playing the role of Golovkin. It takes the WBA a year to take action against Jones and it was only this month they declared Jones “champion in recess” (for me that always conjures up a row of boxers hanging on coat hooks in a cupboard somewhere). A year for Jones-two months for Geale-and even then they gave Jones the sop of a meaningless title. Let me see now. Jones is Panamanian and the WBA Head Office is in.......oh yes. Panama."

We've been here before, of course, many times. Another fat sanctioning fee will be on its way to the fat shysters at the WBA, while poor old Geale wonders whether going all the way to Germany and beating Sturm was actually worth the bother. Disgrace piles itself onto disgrace and boxing continues to suffer.

To be fair to Geale he has taken it quite well, he's promised to go and get his title back from Golovkin once he's dealt with Mundine.

You're right though, the various organisations (I use the word loosely) are as bad as each other and dragging the sport on a downward spiral of ridiculosity.

Although you have to feel bad for Geale as it seems like he hasn't been given the luxury that some champions have, but mandatories are there for a reason and it shouldn't take more than 90 days or 2 months to arrange a fight

If the WBA didn't alert him than you can't fault him but if they did them he has no reason to be unhappy.

Yes, Mundine is a much better fight for him financially being a rematch and both Australian but Golovkin is the one who has proved himself and he deserves the fight more than Mundine does and should the WBA bypass Golovkin try are pretty much saying that if you aren't a name you can't be a champion whic would be worse

Agreed in principle, WHU, but as always, it's the inconsistency, the exceptions and the lack of transparency that make this kind of thing so galling. So many fighters seem to get a pass for deferring a mandatory until the 12th of Never that it seems to me that Geale has reason to feel hard done by here. If Geale were from one of the powerful Latin American nations, or even a high-profile American or Brit, it seems likely that a degree of leniency may have been shown. The unseemly haste to strip him of a belt that he's only just won is what appals me.

You could of course look at it as the WBA trying to re-amalgamate their title by insisting that their 'regular' and 'super' champions face off. If they do this across the board and effectively get rid of the 'super' titles in the process it can only be a good thing.

very noble of them but maybe wlad and povetkin didnt get the memo

Boxing is a joke.

I hate to say this but it's the truth and in the cold light of day.

It has no more credibility than WWF (or whatever the wrestling governing body is called). I don't think anyone takes the results, rankings, belt holders, records, anything infact, seriously anymore.

The only remaining interest is in following a handful of exciting talents but even then they rarely face off against each other, or do so under ridiculous stipulations thus rendering any result anti-climactic.

It makes me so angry.

So goddamm angry.

I have nothing left but anger.

These crooks are the scum of the earth.

They've destroyed a noble sport.

I have nothing but utter contempt for them. F*ing cockroaches.



emancipator

It has something to do with Guillermo Jones being a Panamanian boxer and the WBA being from Panama as to why they've let him defend so few times. Jones is a disgrace and if it wasn't for the WBA being based in the same country he'd have been stripped.

Geale strikes me as someone who will fight anyone. Once he gets a good payday against a fellow Australian, he will go after Golovkin, he won't have much chance of winning however...

That being said probably not many people do...