Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Alphabet soup and nuts

Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2000 | 10:06 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

As a sports fan and recalling my earlier years being involved in boxing, I've had about enough of the alphabet soup concocted by selfish promoters and businessmen. Not to worry about the welfare of the fighters or the interest of the fans is their attitude. Money is the motivation, and several of them are making tons of it.

If you are anyplace near my age, you can remember when Hammerin' Hank Armstrong was welterweight champion and when Joe Louis was heavyweight champion. Let's not forget Rocky Marciano. There was no doubt who wore those crowns and there wasn't a bunch of pretenders running around with phony championship belts claiming a "share" of those titles. Either you were champ or were in line to fight the champ. There was only one crown and one belt to be had in each weight class.

So what do we have today? We have the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxing Federation (IBF), North American Boxing Federation (NABF), United States Boxing Association (USBA), International Boxing Association (IBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the World Boxing Union (WBU). There are enough letters to make alphabet soup for an entire infantry division.

This whole conglomeration of questionable boxing groups results in each group declaring its own champion. When it is profitable they will, from time to time, put on a title "unification" fight. This is agreed upon by two of the groups, and when the fight is over both factions have made money and now they agree upon a champion. This doesn't mean the several other organizations will agree. They will continue to hand out belts and crowns that any amateur boxer would shun.

A good example of this monetary and egotistical nonsense was on display less than two weeks ago right here in Las Vegas. Paulie Ayala holds the WBA bantamweight title and was matched against Johnny Tapia and beat him for the second time. The WBA prohibits one of its titleholders to also claim a title created by another organization so the IBA gave its featherweight belt to Tapia, the loser. Not because the loser had won it but because the IBA wanted a crowd-pleaser to fill its featherweight title vacancy and who can still attract good-paying crowds. Again it's all about dollars.

Got enough alphabet soup? I have had enough, and so have thousands of boxing fans who have watched the alphabet soup boys water down the value of all championship crowns and belts. There are some fight fans still around who can recall the days when a title was of importance to both the fighter and fans. There was one title and the only way you could claim it was by whipping the champ.

Fighters the caliber of Roy Jones, Felix Trinidad, Naseem Hamed, Oscar De La Hoya and several others deserve better than the alphabet soup guys have to offer. So what can be done to help unscrew the mess foisted upon both the public and fighters? I'd say it is about time for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to declare enough is enough and tell the IBA that its fighters and titles are no longer wanted in Nevada. Next they should send the same message to the WBO and WBU and join with other responsible state commissions in pushing the entire alphabet mess into a box where it can be sorted out by the state commissions, fighters and public. Yes, and the federal government should also be taking a closer look at the entire professional game and its method of buying, selling and rewarding losers with titles they haven't earned in the ring.

Will this ever be done? Maybe. Maybe not. The Nevada State Athletic Commission could at least start by telling the IBA their titles will no longer be recognized in the Silver State.