Boxers stripped of title for refusing to fight someone

[Controversial]

Lennox Lewis was stripped of WBA/IBF belts for refusing to fight John Ruiz and Chris Byrd.

Worst bottle job ever!

To be fair Ruiz or Byrd had little chance of beating Lewis. He skipped them to fight Tyson and Klitschko which were far more lucrative and drew far more public demand. He was at the end of his career so far bigger fights to leave on than either of those two. LL would have stopped both I think.

[Boxing Writer]

Lennox Lewis was stripped of WBA/IBF belts for refusing to fight John Ruiz and Chris Byrd.

Worst bottle job ever!

To be fair Ruiz or Byrd had little chance of beating Lewis. He skipped them to fight Tyson and Klitschko which were far more lucrative and drew far more public demand. He was at the end of his career so far bigger fights to leave on than either of those two. LL would have stopped both I think.

I think he would beat both by UD.

[writehooks]

In 1979 the Canadian Professional Boxing Federation stripped George Chuvalo of the national heavyweight title he'd owned for the better part of two decades because he refused to take a big pay cut to fight counterfeit "Canadian" Trevor Berbick in the Jamaican's adopted hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The fight had originally been signed for neutral Edmonton, Alberta, with George agreeing to a purse of $38,000, but the CPBF had issues with the promoter (Nick Zubray) and ordered the bout switched to a much smaller venue in Halifax. George basically told the CPBF to GFT and hung up his gloves for good, retiring with a record of 73-18-2 (64 KOs).

[Nile4000]

Bob Foster was stripped by the WBA for not fighting Jimmy Dupree, and Carlos Monzon was stripped by the WBC for not fighting Rodrigo Valdez.

[sweetviolenturge]

In 1981 after Sean O'Grady won the WBA lightweight title with a thrilling but one-sided decision over the unbeaten Hilmer Kenty the world was his oyster. There was talk of him making big money in fights with then budding superstars Ray Mancini, Hector Camacho, Aaron Pryor & even going up to meet Ray Leonard for the welterweight title. But before he could do any of those things he had to get past the WBA's mandatory contender Claude Noel. A limited entity from Trinidad with fair skills & power but a shaky chin.
It would likely have been an easy title defense for Sean, but his father Pat O'Grady ( who managed & promoted him ) instead opted to have him sign to fight Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. on Halloween. For which the WBA stripped O'Grady & papa Pat promptly established his own sanctioning body the WAA ( World Athletic Association ) & proclaimed Sean its champion.
Unfortunately for the O'Grady clan, Davis was injured days before the fight & when looking for a replacement opponent Pat chose Hawaiian contender Andy Ganigan. Which was an odd choice because Sean had prepared for Davis who was a tall, orthodox, boxer-mover with limited power whereas Ganigan was a short, southpaw, walk-in banger with big power.
And, as you might imagine, the fight turned into a disaster for Sean who was caught cold by the dangerous Hawaiian & dropped multiple times en route to a 2nd round KO loss.

[gilgamesh]

In 1981 after Sean O'Grady won the WBA lightweight title with a thrilling but one-sided decision over the unbeaten Hilmer Kenty the world was his oyster. There was talk of him making big money in fights with then budding superstars Ray Mancini, Hector Camacho, Aaron Pryor & even going up to meet Ray Leonard for the welterweight title. But before he could do any of those things he had to get past the WBA's mandatory contender Claude Noel. A limited entity from Trinidad with fair skills & power but a shaky chin.
It would likely have been an easy title defense for Sean, but his father Pat O'Grady ( who managed & promoted him ) instead opted to have him sign to fight Olympic gold medalist Howard Davis Jr. on Halloween. For which the WBA stripped O'Grady & papa Pat promptly established his own sanctioning body the WAA ( World Athletic Association ) & proclaimed Sean its champion.
Unfortunately for the O'Grady clan, Davis was injured days before the fight & when looking for a replacement opponent Pat chose Hawaiian contender Andy Ganigan. Which was an odd choice because Sean had prepared for Davis who was a tall, orthodox, boxer-mover with limited power whereas Ganigan was a short, southpaw, walk-in banger with big power.
And, as you might imagine, the fight turned into a disaster for Sean who was caught cold by the dangerous Hawaiian & dropped multiple times en route to a 2nd round KO loss.

Was Ganigan the WAA Champion or did O'Grady's Dad just do away with the title now that his Son didn't have it?

I knew about Ganigan smashing O'Grady. Didn't know about all these other circumstances surrounding the fight though.

[sweetviolenturge]

I believe that Ganigan won the WAA title, but he never defended it as he went from the O'Grady fight into a challenge of Alexis Arguello for his WBC title.
Pat O'Grady kept the WAA going for a few years after but I don't recall what happened with the lightweight title.

[scartissue]

One of the most disgraceful acts I have seen is the WBC stripping Bobby Chacon of his 130 lb. title for refusing to fight Hector Camacho. Don King was controlling the career of Camacho and the offer was $250,000 for Chacon to fight him. But Chacon signed to fight the WBCs #1 contender Boza Edwards for $450,000 instead. A no-brainer, right? Well the WBC acted like Don King puppets and insisted he fight Camacho over their own #1 contender. Chacon went ahead with the Edwards fight, which had no WBC backing, and was stripped of his title. Absolutely shameless.

[sweetsci]

One of the most disgraceful acts I have seen is the WBC stripping Bobby Chacon of his 130 lb. title for refusing to fight Hector Camacho. Don King was controlling the career of Camacho and the offer was $250,000 for Chacon to fight him. But Chacon signed to fight the WBCs #1 contender Boza Edwards for $450,000 instead. A no-brainer, right? Well the WBC acted like Don King puppets and insisted he fight Camacho over their own #1 contender. Chacon went ahead with the Edwards fight, which had no WBC backing, and was stripped of his title. Absolutely shameless.

I was trying to remember which fight involved someone being stripped for fighting the number 1 contender. Thanks!

I think then-WBA champ Mike Weaver was negotiating a fight with WBA #1 Gerry Cooney and the WBA made him fight Quick Tillis instead.

[Nile4000]

Bob Arum had something to do with that.

[Ambling Alp II]

One of the most disgraceful acts I have seen is the WBC stripping Bobby Chacon of his 130 lb. title for refusing to fight Hector Camacho. Don King was controlling the career of Camacho and the offer was $250,000 for Chacon to fight him. But Chacon signed to fight the WBCs #1 contender Boza Edwards for $450,000 instead. A no-brainer, right? Well the WBC acted like Don King puppets and insisted he fight Camacho over their own #1 contender. Chacon went ahead with the Edwards fight, which had no WBC backing, and was stripped of his title. Absolutely shameless.

Hard to believe a WBS organization would do something like that. More evidence that these titles should not be taken so seriously.