Is the Lonsdale Belt still as important to boxers

[dalcumly]

I'm maybe old fashioned and possibly a bit out of touch but if I was boxing professionally winning the belt outright would mean everything to me - more important than money or a world title. But am I being stupid ? Is it just nostalgia?
I'd put it on a par with winning the FA cup. I know footballers not born in England don't really understand but English players do ,I think.
What do we think ?

[tsmithy50]

I think it's very important to the boxers who are good enough to own one outright but surely a world titles more important (excluding WBF,IBO blah - blah)

[philipgill]

I think it's very important to the boxers who are good enough to own one outright but surely a world titles more important (excluding WBF,IBO blah - blah)

A British title all day long for me I think the are so many versions of world titles its harder to win the lonsdale belt outright!!

[Tommy Gunn13]

I'm maybe old fashioned and possibly a bit out of touch but if I was boxing professionally winning the belt outright would mean everything to me - more important than money or a world title. But am I being stupid ? Is it just nostalgia?
I'd put it on a par with winning the FA cup. I know footballers not born in England don't really understand but English players do ,I think.
What do we think ?

If i was boxing,obvisly id love to win the Lonsdale belt outright,but money talks...its a short career so you cant blame them for bigger paydays...

[palooka]

When you read about some of the boxers who worked and improved for years and fought tough competition and never got to win a British title; you got to give the achievement some real respect. getting to keep the belt is on a different level as well; (though some of the weight divisions are killers, they have really, really good boxers to beat). As someone said earlier, it can be easier to beat someone for a European or world title than the next best in Britain.

[whiskey]

The British title is more important than ever from sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Too many domestic battles never happened, because they skipped the British title to fight for some poxy inter-continental, completely meaningless trinket against a non-brit.

Those that take it, and then win it outright to prove domestic supremacy deserve respect.

[Tommy Gunn13]

The British title is more important than ever from sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Too many domestic battles never happened, because they skipped the British title to fight for some poxy inter-continental, completely meaningless trinket against a non-brit.

Those that take it, and then win it outright to prove domestic supremacy deserve respect.

Totally agree,they do deserve respect.....Im a man utd fan but if a opposing team offered me double to play for them,would i be wrong taking it??

[Finn]

definatley the most impressive looking belt. I always think the lonsdale belt is a very impressive thing to acheive, but like all belts its the manner you win it a defend it that makes it something of such value.

[fightfaninfrance]

Ask Watson or Crolla the question!

Doubt you'd get the commitment those two put in tonight for a WBA Intercintinental Interim Silver Diamond Super belt fight. And that's nothing against the lads who fight for those belts.

[dhb-raging bull]

jamie mcdonnell is on the fringe of word title level and he has said he would love to win the british title outright he said he couldnt turn the european title fight down and when he won that he got stripped of the british but he wants that title for keeps

[bennie]

Today, it's the greatest belt in the world.

[Spud]

Today, it's the greatest belt in the world.

Yep!!!

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

There is the belt and what it brings in regards money and the prestige of the belt. The Lonsdale belt is one of the oldest titles in boxing
and it's prestige is second to none. The belt itself is a beautiful belt and harder to secure than a WBA belt (which can be got for 40 quid on Ebay)

The alphabet belts bring in the money and the opportunities to make a name for yourself. As much as I hate the sanctioning bodies, it will be any boxers ambition to win an alphabet title. Boxers who don't want it aren't in the hunt in the first place.

[bennie]

There is the belt and what it brings in regards money and the prestige of the belt. The Lonsdale belt is one of the oldest titles in boxing
and it's prestige is second to none. The belt itself is a beautiful belt and harder to secure than a WBA belt (which can be got for 40 quid on Ebay)

The alphabet belts bring in the money and the opportunities to make a name for yourself. As much as I hate the sanctioning bodies, it will be any boxers ambition to win an alphabet title. Boxers who don't want it aren't in the hunt in the first place.

Forty quid! I've got to write this down for future reference - hilarious.

[Insider]

Ask Watson or Crolla the question!

Doubt you'd get the commitment those two put in tonight for a WBA Intercintinental Interim Silver Diamond Super belt fight. And that's nothing against the lads who fight for those belts.

Cracking post!!!

[orbtastic]

I reckon Hatton has a slightly empty feeling some days when he looks at his trophy cabinet and sees the WBU title in there rather than his British title.

[bennie]

[T.M.K]

I reckon Hatton has a slightly empty feeling some days when he looks at his trophy cabinet and sees the WBU title in there rather than his British title.

Something in my memory says he bought his under the offer from the BBBofC...... which is something like: you win a belt outright with 4 succesful wins in the same divison, or if no mandatory challenger is appointed (or accepts) in the space of 2 years(?) then the board give you a belt anyway....

or: if you pay them £3,000 (?) as reigning champ you can just buy a title to keep anyway.

*I THINK - the above may have changed or I may have details wrong*


But in theory, I always thought the same with Hatton: I think he should be looking at British, Commonwealth and European belts instead of a WBU bauble with 15 defences.

Col

[winkveron]

It should be, but if a scenario happened where you needed one more defence to win it, but there was no-one decent about, would you fight a bum instead of maybe going for the Euro title or a world title eliminator? Then you'd probably get stick for taking easy fights or run the risk of going stagnant hanging around the domestic scene for too long. I can see why it's a complex situation.

If I were a boxer, in an ideal world - I'd like to win the commonwealth belt, then win and defend a lonsdale belt so it was mine for keeps before going on to Euro and world titles. It would be important to me but only under the correct circumstances.

[orbtastic]

People have been awarded it before, can't think of a specific example but it was down at light fly or fly where there were no available challengers.

Hatton didn't have this problem. I just know he won the vacant title and went straight onto the WBU title in his next fight.

I didn't know he'd actually got the belt but it shows you he wanted to own one, even if he didn't make the defences!

[palooka]

Didn't Junior Witter get one given to keep as he was obviously a class above the other light welters in the country? (barring Ricky Hatton).

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

People have been awarded it before, can't think of a specific example but it was down at light fly or fly where there were no available challengers.

Charlie Magri 8 years after he won the title.