The Boxing Truth®

Longtime readers know that a consistent feature every year on this observer’s annual “Boxing Wishlist” that usually begins the schedule at the start of a new year here on The Boxing Truth® that usually ranks near the top of the list, perhaps only outranked by a sincere desire to see the outdated and often inflated pay-per-view model done away with in favor of more economically reasonable subscription-based alternatives, is a wish to eventually see one undisputed world champion crowned in each of Boxing’s seventeen weight divisions. While much like my stance on the pay-per-view model doing more harm to the sport of Boxing than it does to benefit it or the fighters that compete in it, the wish to see one undisputed world champion determined per weight class is something that most fans would probably view as wishful thinking and not realistic. Although it is indeed true that due to the various political aspects that are involved in the sport, including, but not limited to multiple sanctio...

In November 2019, the Boxing world saw the conclusion of the second season of the highly acclaimed World Boxing Super Series (WBSS). To be more specific, the conclusion of that season’s Bantamweight tournament where world champions Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire put their respective championships on the line to determine not only the tournament winner, but who the best fighter was in the 118lb. Bantamweight division.   While the fight also had the storyline of youth versus experience with the future Hall of Famer Donaire in the role of trying to defy the odds by defeating a fighter that had dominated nearly every opponent he had faced in Inoue, no one was prepared for the classic encounter that took place when the two fighters entered the ring. A fight that was fought at a high pace from the opening bell, Inoue and Donaire engaged in a memorable battle for twelve rounds that was regarded by many as 2019’s Fight of the Year.   On that evening it was Inoue who was vict...

  With much of the Boxing world setting it’s attention on events occurring outside of the ring that are all too often the subject of criticism and ridicule that the sport for the worse and not the better seems to deal with constantly, with the world still dealing with the ongoing global COVID-19 epidemic, all attention for one evening was set on the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, NV for an event that unfortunately is too rare in Boxing. A unification bout to determine one “Undisputed World Champion.”   In this instance, this event, which took place on May 22 nd , occurred in the 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division. While the history of the division is one that has seen many memorable battles and legendary champions that have been chronicled on more than one occasion by this observer, all the ingredients that make an event of this magnitude special and unfortunately a rarity were present here. Two undefeated world champions, each in their prime and each held in high regard putting the...

  All too often in the sport of Boxing, the politics of the sport for better or worse depending on one’s perspective tend to stand in the way of progress. The world “Progress” more often than not in Boxing usually means the pursuit for fighters to become not just a world champion, but to achieve what is a difficult goal, to become the one and only world champion in a weight division. To become “Undisputed.”   Due largely to the aforementioned element of politics that surround the sport, a world champion becoming truly “Undisputed” is rare. Perhaps more of a rarity is when an undisputed champion vacates their crown to seek accolades in a different weight class, where the reunification process of the crown they leave behind takes place in a relatively short period of time. The 140lb. Jr. Welterweight division is experiencing one such occurrence. Following undefeated undisputed world champion Terence Crawford successfully unifying the division in August 2017 with a third round kn...