Since the World Boxing Association (WBA) president prioritized the World Title Reduction Plan, much progress has been made towards the goal of having only one champion per division. With different decisions and resolutions, significant progress has been made and 11 of the 17 divisions are now fully resolved, while the others are on track.
To date, there are 10 single WBA champions, with the addition of the bantamweight division, which is currently vacant. The champions are Kenshiro Teraj in light flyweight; Artem Dalakian, flyweight; Joshua Franco, super flyweight; Murodjon Akhmadaliev, super bantamweight; Leigh Wood, featherweight; Hector Garcia, super featherweight; Alberto Puello, super lightweight; Jermell Charlo, super welterweight; Dmitry Bivol, light heavyweight; and Arsen Goulamirian, cruiserweight.
The minimumweight will be decided on March 1st when Thammanoon Niyomtrong and Erick Rosa will fight to determine the only champion of the division. In the middleweight division, the fight between Gennady Golovkin and Erislandy Lara has already been ordered, which will also leave a single champion.
The Championships Committee continues to make progress in the other categories that have two champions. In welterweight, the next fight of super champion Errol Spence Jr. is expected, who received permission to face Keith Thurman. Meanwhile, champion Eimantas Stanionis will face Vergil Ortiz Jr. on April 29. The winners of both bouts will then meet to determine the sole 147-pound champion.
At lightweight, Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis remain champions, while at super middleweight there are Saul Alvarez and David Morrell and at heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois also hold championships. The WBA monitors these divisions for the best possible decision.
I’m assuming they’re just going to wait for Canelo and Usyk/Fury to vacate and probably Spence as well because there’s no way in the world he’s going to fight Stanionis or Ortiz.
Well, he fought Carlos Ocampos when he was asked
He did and that was him making his mandatory; but that was a few years ago and he only had one belt and wasn’t making as much money as he is now. I’d be surprised, even when he doesn’t get Crawford again (and he won’t), if Spence decided to fight Stanionis/Ortiz, but we’ll see.
I actually saw Tim Tszyu said he’d like to fight Spence.
i got a better idea how about these fighters actually fight other top fighters for the #1 rankings not just get “gifted” the spots
This one isn’t about rankings, it’s about the WBA cleaning up the mess it made by spending a few years giving away world championships.
Very weird the boxing world somentimes. The WBA is talking about a reduction of the numerous world champions in each division to a single one, and has ordered some fighters to face each other with that purpose, so, why Canelo is not ordered to face David Morrell and instead he is slated to face John Ryder when he returns in May? IMO Morrell is by far better opponent and has more merits.
Ryder is the WBO’s mandatory/interim champion.
why Morrell fought who to win that fake title anyway? has Morrell even fought any top 10 fighters? Morrell like everybody else wanting to win the lotto needs to play the game first and that means taking risk and fighting the top contenders Plant, Benavidez etc
Well done guy’s keep going..
Meaningless until they do away with all the extra divisions.
The WBA which stands for the Worlds Biggest Azzholes,has completely destroyed boxing for many years now.All of a SUDDEN they want 1 champ per division, when they themselves have 200 champs per division? They figure they are going to be outed for what they really are.The only thing that we need is a federal boxing commission because boxing is the only sport that at present does not have one. Every sport has a commissioner,now is the time to kick out all these frauds and blood suckers WBA,Wbc because they’ve drained every fighter and everyone of having 1 champ per division.And with a commissioner we will get a champ in each division that must defend the title at least 3 times a year.