THE WBC BITE BACK
THE WORLD BOXING COUNCIL is never afraid of making changes to the sport of boxing nor of the stick that comes their way as a consequence.
They were the sanctioning body who reduced 15-rounders to 12. They demanded that weigh-ins take place the day before major bouts. They introduced the strawweight, super-middleweight and cruiserweight divisions, among others.
Arguably the most recognisable and authoritative of all sanctioning bodies, the WBC certainly try to lead by example. It would be unfair to not give them their due, too: They are perhaps the most safety-conscious of the ‘big four’ and though it can’t be deemed a complete success, their Clean Boxing Program – spearheaded by president Mauricio Sulaiman – was the biggest step taken by anyone holding a position of power in the sport towards solving boxing’s (probably unsolvable) problem with performance enhancing drugs.
They take pride in being transparent yet even with a window on what they do, some of the procedures they put in place, and proposals they make, baffle both industry insiders and fans.
Three months ago, at their virtual Convention, the WBC announced they would be introducing a new weight class. One that would sit between the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions with a weight limit of 224lbs. Initial plans to change the existing cruiserweight limit from 200 to 190lbs have been shelved after
