A HISTORY OF CHAOS
IN the late 1960s, the WBC and the WBA were the only two sanctioning bodies – and the WBA was definitely regarded as inferior. When they stripped a champion of his title, no-one paid much attention.
In 1964, they withdrew recognition of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali because – in breach of WBA rules – he agreed to a return with Sonny Liston, from whom he had won the title. In March 1965, Ernie Terrell won the vacant WBA title by outscoring fellow-American Eddie Machen. After two low-profile defences, Terrell met Ali and was trounced over 15 rounds.
In 1967, when Ali famously refused to be drafted into the United States Army (and lost his licence to box), the WBA lost no time in declaring the title vacant and setting up an eight-man knockout tournament to decide the new champion. It was interesting in that it matched some of the world’s best, and also threw up a few surprises. But few recognised the ultimate winner – Jimmy Ellis – as the world heavyweight champion. The WBC continued to support Ali – and when it became clear that he would not be able to box for some considerable time, they announced that they would recognise the winner of Joe Frazier and a valid contender.
Frazier, the 1968 Olympic medallist, had been making a name for himself as a pro. He had been invited to join the WBA tournament but his management declined – and in March 1968, Frazier won recognition as world champion from New York and five other states by stopping old amateur rival Buster Mathis in 11 rounds. In February 1970, Frazier put Ellis down twice in the fourth and retired in the interval.
In 1965, the WBA stripped flyweight champion Salvatore Burruni, of Italy, for refusing to defend against Argentina’s Horacio Accavallo – who won their vacant “title” by outpointing Japan’s Katsutoshi Takayama in Tokyo.
