Ready Or Not, Here It Comes, Boxing’s New Bridgerweight Division

World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman had made it known that his organization was considering a new weight class. It’s now official. The category will be called Bridgerweight and the parameters will be 201-224. Henceforth, a true heavyweight, as operationally defined by the WBC, is a boxer weighing at least 225 pounds.

It’s isn’t known when the WBC will formalize this division by coming out with a set of ratings. Deontay Wilder carried a career-high 231 pounds for his rematch with Tyson Fury, but would have no difficulty scaling back to “bridgerweight.” The new weight class would be a perfect fit for Oleksandr Usyk. But, needless to say, owning the belt wouldn’t carry much cachet which would undoubtedly have the effect of diminishing the size of the purse that a champion could command.

Wilder and Usyk are currently ranked #1 and #2 in the WBC ratings behind heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

As for the inaugural WBC Bridgerweight title fight – the battle for the vacant belt – one logical pairing would be a rematch between Alexander Povetkin and Michael Hunter who fought to a draw in Saudi Arabia in December of last year. Of course, that’s unlikely to happen. Povetkin is signed to a rematch with Dillian Whyte, a bout that now has a target date of Jan. 30, 2021. By then, the Russian is expected to be fully recovered from COVID-19 which landed him in a Moscow hospital earlier this month.

About that name: Sulaiman says he was inspired by the heroism of Bridger Walker, a 6-year-old boy in Cheyenne, Wyoming, who came to the rescue of his 4-year-old sister who was being attacked by a neighbor’s vicious dog. In fending off the attacker, a German Shepherd mix, Bridger suffered facial injuries that required 90 stitches. The story of the incident with accompanying photographs was posted on Instagram by Bridger’s aunt and went viral.

When the WBC holds their first Bridgerweight event, look for young Bridger Walker to be the guest of honor.

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While we are on the subject of the WBC, Mauricio Sulaiman has adamantly denied that his company is receiving a sanctioning fee for the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones exhibition at the Staples Center on Nov. 28 on pay-per-view. The unique belt, says Sulaiman, is a commemorative strap that each fighter will receive “in recognition of their innovative efforts to bring entertainment to the world…during these challenging and harsh times for humanity.”

What future generations of historians will find interesting is that the belt is inscribed with the words “Black Lives Matter,” making it the first belt awarded to boxers that comes with a political statement.

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