Boxing’s Chaotic Weight Divisions: Part Two of a Two-Part Story

Published

7 months ago

November 20, 2020

Boxing's-Chaotic-Weight-Divisions-Part-Two-of-a-Two-Part-Story

In May of 1987, The Ring magazine, boxing’s premier publication, announced that it would be turning back the clock. In the future, the monthly top-10 ratings would be limited to the eight classic weight divisions. The champions of the “junior” divisions would be rolled into the next highest weight class.

“Our goal,” said The Ring editor Nigel Collins, “is to restore boxing to the way it used to be, when the champ really meant something. The thing is so watered down now that it has become a farce.”

The last straw for the self-styled Bible of boxing was the introduction of the 105-pound weight class earlier that year. The fledgling International Boxing Federation got the ball rolling and the two other relevant organizations, the WBC and WBA, were quick to embrace it. This latest addition to boxing’s taxonomy created a second weight division below the standard flyweight class. Only three measly pounds separated the 105-pound class from the class directly above it.

Making matters more confusing, the three organizations could not agree on what to call the new weight division. The IBF named it mini-flyweight, the WBC called it the strawweight, and the WBA named it the minimumweight division.

The addition of this new weight class was seen as a cash grab, a move to extract more money in sanctioning fees from the sport’s promoters. It was certainly that, but there was more to it. The honchos of the three organizations could see that the Orient was “under-served.” The best fighters in this region of the world, with few exceptions, were “mighty-mites.” When the IBF released its first mini-flyweight top-10 list, only four countries were represented: Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and South Korea.

Cruisers

The cruiserweight division was born before the bottom end of the weight spectrum was cluttered with sub-flyweight divisions. The WBC led the way, setting the limit at 190 pounds.

Marvin Camel, who was born on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, had the distinction of being the world’s first cruiserweight champion, but it took him two tries. In December of 1979, Camel’s 15-round fight with Mate Parlov in Yugoslavia ended in a draw. The do-over was held three months later in Las Vegas and Camel copped the vacant belt, winning a unanimous decision.

Camel became a two-time cruiserweight champion when he scored a 5^th-round stoppage over Roddy McDonald on McDonald’s turf in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Dec. 13, 1983, in the first world cruiserweight title fight sanctioned by the infant IBF.

Prior to this, in February of the previous year, the first WBA cruiserweight title fight was held in South Africa. Ossie Ocasio claimed the vacant belt with a 15-round split decision over Robbie Williams. In point of fact, Ocasio actually won the WBA’s junior heavyweight title, but the name never caught on and the WBA eventually fell in line with its rivals and accepted the handle “cruiserweight.”

Super Middles

The idea for a 168-pound weight class had been kicking around for some time before the International Boxing Federation gave it the stamp of approval, taking it out of the hands of fly-by-night organizations.

The IBF, headquartered in New Jersey, was pressured to create the new weight class by the management of Garden State native Bobby Czyz who had outgrown the middleweight division, but the popular Czyz was a spectator when the IBF held its first super middleweight title fight, a match between Murray Sutherland and Ernie Singletary at Atlantic City on March 28, 1984. Sutherland, who was born in Scotland but fought out of Bay City, Michigan, won the vacant belt with a lopsided decision in a dull 15-round fight.

South Korea’s Chong Pal-Park, who dethroned Sutherland but left the IBF, won the first WBA super middleweight title fight with a second-round stoppage of Tijuana’s Jesus Gallardo on Dec. 6, 1987. In November of the following year, the first-ever WBO and WBC super middleweight title fights were staged three days apart in Las Vegas.

On the 4^th, at the Hilton, Thomas Hearns became the first WBO 168-pound title-holder when he got off the deck to win a 12-round majority decision over James Kinchen. On the 7^th, at Caesars Palace, Sugar Ray Leonard got off the deck to stop Donny Lalonde in the ninth frame. Leonard won two titles that night as Lalonde entered the ring sporting the WBC light heavyweight title, but Sugar Ray never had any intention of defending this belt.

That set up a unification fight between Hearns and Leonard, a rematch of their scintillating welterweight battle, but almost eight years had passed since that famous fight and Leonard-Hearns II, contested at Caesars Palace on June 12, 1989, was a pale imitation of the original even though it was a very close fight that ended in a draw.

All four governing bodies would eventually bump the cruiserweight class up to 200 pounds. The changeover was made in rapid succession, one of the few instances in which the rival organizations operated more or less in concert.

Olympic Boxing

The lords of professional boxing were too smart to tamper with the traditional eight weight classes. The weights have remained unchanged for more than 100 years. At the amateur level, however, there have been frequent shake-ups.

As noted in PART ONE, the 1920 Summer Games were an important development in putting the seal of approval on the eight traditional classes and standardizing the weight attached to each class. This template remained in place until 1948 when there were changes across the board resulting from the decision to express the weights in kilograms rather than pounds. Every weight class was impacted to some degree. To take just one example, the lightweight division went from 135 pounds to 62 kilograms, the rough equivalent of 136.7 pounds.

Four years later, at the 1952 Olympics, two new weight classes were introduced, boosting the number of divisions from “8” to “10.” The new divisions were called light welterweight and light middleweight and the divisions adjacent to them were adjusted so that they wouldn’t rub too close against them.

Another new weight class was introduced in 1968, the light flyweight class with a ceiling of 105.8 pounds (48 kilograms) and in 1984 the number of Olympic weight classes went from “11” to “12” with a super heavyweight class for boxers weighing more than 91 kilograms (200.6 pounds).

The light middleweight division was eliminated in 2004 and the featherweight division was expunged in 2012, bringing the number of Olympic weight classes back to “10.” As was true when a new weight class was added, the elimination of a weight class brought about some adjustments. And it now became necessary to qualify the number by noting that these were men’s classes. The women had crashed the party.

At the 2012 Games, the first for female boxing, and once again in 2016, the ladies were sorted into three divisions: flyweight, lightweight, and middleweight.

At the forthcoming Tokyo Olympiad — pushed back from 2020 by the pandemic — there will be five weight classes for women. A featherweight (125) and a welterweight (152) class has been added. Concordantly, the lightweight division has been redefined, going from 132 to 138 pounds.

As has happened in the realm of sports at America’s colleges and universities, as more opportunities have been provided for women, there’s been some contraction for men. To accommodate the ladies, AIBA, the international governing body of amateur boxing, is doing away with two men’s classes. The light flyweight and bantamweight divisions are biting the dust.

—

It seems odd that as amateur boxing is returning to eight weight classes (for males), the pro game is heading in the other direction. The addition of a bridgerweight class will swell the number to 18.

And by the way, The Ring magazine now rates boxers in 12 weight categories. The well-intentioned rollback to the original eight never did take hold.

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Arne K. Lang

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What Next for Gabriel Rosado?

Published

7 hours ago

June 22, 2021

Ted Sares

Bektemir Melikuziev, Freddie Roach, Edgar Berlanga, and Jaime Munguia are names that, one way or another, figured into Gabe Rosado’s stunning KO last Saturday night in El Paso. It overshadowed the impressive showing by Noaya “Monster” Inoue later that night in Las Vegas.

Rosado (26-13-1) is a well-documented bleeder and just might start spurting during the walk-in, but he is never, ever in a dull fight. The tougher-than-tough Philadelphian won Top Gore honors for his blood and guts TKO loss to Canadian middleweight star David Lemieux in 2014. The year before, he bled aplenty in his game but losing effort against Gennady Golovkin.

This time against Melikuziev, the unbeaten Uzbek, the fight ended in round three when the 35-year-old underdog beat the Eastern Euro fighter to the punch during an exchange of rights with Gabe’s landing first and sending the former amateur star into dreamland. The force of the blow was amplified by the younger and faster man coming forward with caution to the wind. And this time, there was no bloodletting.

The knockout should be a contender for KO of the Year. In fact, it was reminiscent of Juan Manuel Marquez’s explosive knockout of Manny Pacquiao in their final match.

Once again, Rosado (who is now trained by Freddie Roach) has revived his career and can count on at least one last decent payday. While many think Jaime Munguia would be a solid next fight, the thinking here is that Rosado could get carved up by the undefeated Tijuana veteran who has won 30 of his 37 fights by KO. Munguia is just too good.

The Catch 22

Rosado is an all-action fighter but scar tissue and his propensity to bleed is his worst enemy. It has cost him in the past. For such an offensive-minded fighter as Gabe, he is trapped in a terrible catch-22. If he can get the lead early and the bleeding is stemmed within reasonable limits, he can be a force, but not against the likes of Munguia.

If not Munguia, then who? Here is one suggestion: How about “The Chosen One,” Edgar Berlanga (17-0) whose first round KO streak recently came to an end. Brooklyn vs. Philadelphia would be a nice added touch –not to mention the Puerto Rican factor. Could Rosado expose Berlanga as someone without enough experience, aka rounds? Would Gabe show that Berlanga is more Tyson Brunson that Edwin Valero?

Let’s make it happen!

Ted Sares enjoys researching and writing about boxing. He also competes as a powerlifter in the Master-class. He can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com

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Fast Results from Las Vegas: Inoue Demolishes Dasmarinas; Mayer UD Farias

Published

3 days ago

June 19, 2021

Arne K. Lang

Fast Results from Las Vegas: Inoue Demolishes Dasmarinas; Mayer UD Farias

LAS VEGAS — Top Rank was at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 19, for the second of their three June shows. In the headliner, WBA/IBF world bantamweight champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue lived up to his nickname with a vicious third round stoppage of Filipino import Michael Dasmarinas.

Inoue (21-0, 18 KOs) had his opponent fighting off his back foot from the opening bell. He knocked down Dasmarinas in the second with a left hook to the liver and twice more in the third round before referee Russell Mora waived it off. The official time was 2:45.

Dasmarinas brought a 30-2-1 record and hadn’t lost since 2014. But he was no match for the “Monster” who looks younger than his 28 years. Those body shots landed with a thud that could be heard in the far reaches of the arena. This kid is really good.

Mikaela Mayer continues to improve as she showed tonight in the first defense of her WBO world super featherweight title. Mayer 15-0 (5) turned away Argentina’s Erica Farias (26-5) with a 10-round unanimous decision in a fight that was frankly rather monotonous.

Mayer won by scores of 97-93 and 98-92 twice. Farias, who landed the best punch of the fight, didn’t have the taller Mayer’s physical equipment but yet landed the best punch of the fight. Her only setbacks have come on the road against elite opponents—Cecilia Braekhus, Delfine Person, Jessica McCaskill (twice) and now Mikaela Mayer.

The opener on the ESPN portion of the show was a lusty 10-round welterweight affair between Ghana native Isaac Dogboe and Glendale, California’s Adam Lopez. Dogboe, whose only losses came at the hands of Emanuel Navarette in world title fights, improved to 22-2 by dint of a majority decision that could have easily gone the other way. Dave Moretti had it a draw but was overruled (97-93 and 96-94).

Lopez, one of two fighting sons of the late Hector Lopez, an Olympic silver medalist, did his best work late, particularly in the eighth round. With the loss, his record declines to 15-3.

Other Bouts

Monterrey, Mexico super lightweight Lindolfo Delgado, a 2016 Olympian, was extended the distance for the first time in his career but won a wide 8-round decision over Guadalajara’s Salvador Briceno

Delgado won by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 twice while advancing his record to 12-0. Delgado’s best round was the eighth, but Briceno (17-7) weathered the storm. Briceno is 5-6 in his last 11, but has been matched tough. The six fighters to beat him, including Delgado, were a combined 78-3 at the time that he fought them.

Vista, California lightweight Eric Puente has yet to score a KO but he is undefeated in six starts after winning a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Antonio Meza (7-6). Puente, who is trained by Robert Garcia, knocked Meza down early into the fight with a sweeping left and was the aggressor throughout. The judges had it 57-56 and 58-55 twice.

Puerto Rican super lightweight Omar Rosario improved to 4-0 (2) with a fourth-round stoppage of Reno, Nevada’s Wilfred “JJ” Moreno (3-1) The official time was 0:47.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Munguia and Rosado Win by Stoppage in El Paso; Rosado in a Spectacular Fashion

Published

3 days ago

June 19, 2021

Arne K. Lang

Munguia-and-Rosado-Win-by-Stoppage-in-El-Paso-Rosado-in-Spectacular-Fashion

Munguia and Rosado Win by Stoppage in El Paso, Rosado in a Spectacular Fashion

Golden Boy Promotions and their broadcasting partner DAZN were at the Don Haskins Center on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso today for a rare afternoon card. The honchos at GBP didn’t want to go head-to-head with competing shows on ESPN, Showtime, and Triller, the latter of which fell out when headliner Teofimo Lopez tested positive for Covid-19.

There were 10 fights scheduled with the four main fights going first and the undercard bouts bundled into the posterior.

The main event was a 12-round middleweight contest between Tijuana’s Jaime Munguia (37-0, 30 KOs), the former WBO 154-pound title-holder, and Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta (21-2) who was stepping in for countryman Maciej Sulecki who pulled out of this fight twice. The Pole was making his first start since getting bushwacked by Gennadiy Golovkin in a bout on which he was on the deck four times before his corner pulled him out.

His corner stopped this fight as well, the end coming at the conclusion of the sixth frame. After a feeling-out round, Munguia, who is trained by his Tijuana homey Erik Morales, stepped it up. Knowing that Szeremeta was a light puncher, he had no worry about anything coming back at him. There were no knockdowns, but the fight turned progressively more one-sided and the stoppage was warranted.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, slated for 12 in the 168-pound class, 35-year-old Philadelphia warhorse Gabe Rosado (pictured) stole the show with a spectacular one-punch knockout over previously undefeated Bektemir “Bec The Bully” Melikuziev.

A 2012 Olympic silver medalist for Uzbekistan, Melikuziev dominated the first two rounds, knocking down Rosado in the first with a combination of punches. He worked the body effectively for the first two rounds and it appeared that he was too strong for the Philadelphian. But Rosado (26-13, 15 KOs), blasted him out in the third, beating him to the punch with a right hook that landed flush on the Uzbek’s jaw.

The referee didn’t bother to count. Melikuziev was 7-0 (6) heading in. Jaime Munguia may be next for Rosado.

Other Bouts

In a good-action fight that was marred by questionable scoring, native Texan Marlen Esparza, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, wrested the WBO world flyweight title from Mexico’s Ibeth Zamora. Esparza (10-1, 1 KO) sprinted out of her corner at the opening bell only to suffer a knockdown before the fight was 90 seconds old. She fought her way back into the fight, winning the match in the eyes of the judges (97-92, 96-93, 95-94) but not in the eyes of the few fans in attendance who booed when the scores were announced.

It was a hard pill to swallow for the 32-year-old Zamora, now 32-7, who had won 17 of her last 18 heading in.

In his best showing to date, 31-year-old welterweight “prospect” Blair “The Flair” Cobbs scored a fifth-round stoppage over 38-year-old Georgia campaigner Brad Solomon. This was a fairly even fight through four rounds, but Solomon was showing signs of fatigue when Cobbs dropped him to his knees with a big left hand, leading the referee to call it off.

Blair the Flair, who has been training with Freddie Roach, improved to 15-0-1 (10). Solomon, who learned to fight in prison, declined to 29-4.

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