The IBF: What will they do next?

By JE Grant

Several months back, readers will vividly remember, a welterweight champion named Zab Judah was soundly defeated in 12 rounds by a journeyman fighter Carlos Baldomir.

That fight, ostensibly for the welterweight championship – one of the few undisputed kind – should have settled the issue as to who was champion.

Enter the IBF. Baldomir, apparently unwilling to pay a gusher of money for the honor of being called “champion” by an organization that has run up a string of bizarre decisions in its relatively short history, was not awarded a belt by the IBF.

That night, for the first time in boxing history, a champion was defeated in the ring, yet left as champion. Because Baldomir failed to pay the IBF’s fee, Judah was allowed to keep his belt and his title.

Given the fact that there is little honor in professional sports today, Judah kept his phony trinket and entered the ring against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in “defense” of a title he actually lost against Baldomir. He displayed no shame.

Mayweather, for his part, cannot be held accountable for the lunacy that allowed the bout to be called a championship. He has proven himself willing to throw away meaningless trinkets in pursuit of matches with top fighters.

Believe it or not, had he not tossed his WBC super-lightweight belt before the Judah fight, he would have been required to pay a fee to the WBC for fighting for the IBF welterweight title. (Obviously greed is not confined to any particular sanctioning body).

Now we see in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the IBF is ordering a Mayweather-Judah rematch. Really? In a bout in which Judah was pounded and thoroughly thrashed by the talented Mayweather, and engaged in flagrant fouls when it became obvious he was headed toward a stoppage defeat, the IBF somehow thinks a rematch is in order. Please mighty IBF leaders, say it isn't so.

Let’s be clear. Zab Judah, now an unmistakable loser in his last two fights, is to get a mandatory “world” title shot against the fighter who dominated him?

There could be no clearer signal that things have gone absolutely haywire in the IBF should this apparent decision stand.

If the potential answer weren’t so scary, one might ask the IBF president Marian Muhammad, what will you do if Mayweather refuses to go along with this edict? Will you give Judah the title back? We can say with certainty that no fighter in history has lost two title fights in a row in the same division has ever retained a title claim.

Is the IBF willing to make such a dubious historical precedent?

Floyd Mayweather stated a few years back that he does not need title belts to prove his greatness, and he is right. Despite his IBF trinket, he knows that only Carlos Baldomir is the welterweight champion – even though he would be a prohibitive favorite to punch Baldomir into next week should they meet.

Mayweather may very well throw the meaningless hunk of metal into his garage and go on to fights against opponents who are not on losing streaks. Ricky Hatton (who will soon fight for a meaningless trinket), Antonio Margarito (who holds a meaningless trinket), Miguel Cotto, and even Oscar De La Hoya loom in his potential future. In each case, title belts are of secondary value.

Championships as defined by the sanctioning bodies are now officially irrelevant. Perhaps we should cheer the actions of the IBF (and the other sanctioning bodies) of late for the brazenly foolish decisions of organization leaders who are not accountable to anyone and want to flaunt it.

One major state boxing commission (i.e. Nevada, New Jersey, Connecticut) can change all of that by refusing to sanction matches from so-called “world” sanctioning bodies that do not meet their standards.

Further, if a commission really wants to erase the plethora of sanctioning bodies they can use the method federal agents use when going after organized crime figures – stop their flow of money.

Step one: Put a cap on the amount of money they can siphon away from fighters and promoters for championship fees. I encourage every reader of this article to visit the websites of each of the organizations’ that post their rules and examine their fee schedule. You will become sick to your stomach upon seeing the gouging efforts of the organizations.

Step two: Refuse to sanction “interim” and regional titles. The organizations live and breath on their ability to create new ways to generate sanctioning fees. So-called “interim” titles and the growing list of regional championships are all methods of grabbing money. States could replace such titles by recognizing state champions and accept reasonable and very modestly priced fees for trinket belts associated with such titles.

As it is, fighters feel compelled to pay what amounts to ransom for the right to be a champion. Think about this: what if the NBA, NFL, MLB, or the NHL, required all players to pay a fee for the right to play in the NBA championship, the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the Stanley Cup? The fans and the players alike would laugh out loud.

Thanks IBF – for the sharp stick in the eye.