Manuel Charr new WBA interim heavyweight champion

[Ruthless-RKO]

By Eric Baldwin: Former heavyweight world title challenger Manuel Charr has reportedly been elevated to interim World Boxing Association heavyweight champion, and he’s expected to fight for a world title in 2017. What’s unknown is WHY the WBA made the 32-year-old Charr (30-4, 17 KOs) their interim WBA heavyweight champion, because he’s lost three out of his last seven fights in the last two years. That’s not a good record.

A fighter with a 4-3 record in his last seven fights really shouldn’t be an interim title holder with any boxing organization in my opinion. The WBA has their reasons for putting Charr in that position.

If you’re a Charr fan, the good news is he’s likely going to be a fighting for a world title in 2017 against either the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko fight or the winner of the Shannon Briggs vs. Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne clash.

The WBA has three champions at heavyweight with the WBA ‘Super Championship’ to be fought for by Joshua and Klitschko, the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title to be fought for by Briggs and Browne, and now Charr the interim WBA champion. It’s a great way to get sanctioning fee money having all these titles, but it also makes things confusing for the average fan, because it waters down the heavyweight division with a ton of champions.

The move by the WBA to make Charr their interim WBA heavyweight champion is a confusing one that is hard to understand. What does the WBA see in Charr’s recent performances that would put him as a good candidate to be the organization’s interim WBA champion? It would seem like a better idea if the WBA made David Haye their interim WBA champion or Alexander Ustinov.

Those are two good fighters. Neither of them has done much recently, but they haven’t been beaten in three out of their last seven fights like Charr.

What would be troubling is if Charr is the one who winds up facing the winner of the Joshua vs. Klitschko fight rather than someone who has accomplished more in their boxing careers in recent years. In the last three years, Charr has been beaten by Alexander Povetkin, Johann Duhaupas and Mairis Briedis. The loss to cruiserweight Briedis was a pretty shocking one for Charr, because he had a big 30 pound weight advantage in that fight. Briedis is a cruiserweight, and he shouldn’t have been able to beat Charr, and yet he did and he did it easily. Charr has since won his last two fights in beating little known Andrei Mazanik (12-8, 9 KOs) and Sefer Seferi (21-1, 19 KOs). Those are not highly rated fighters.

[crusader]

This would be bad even by WBA standards

[world ranked]

Now they not even bothering with fighting for the title they just giving em out like candy shameful.

[lefty]

That's fornicating farcical

[Freedom2013]

Whoever is making these decisions for the WBA is a half-wit.

[lefty]

Conspiracy theory: are the WBA elevating Charr to interim champion in anticipation of Haye picking him as his next opponent?

[world ranked]

Conspiracy theory: are the WBA elevating Charr to interim champion in anticipation of Haye picking him as his next opponent?

great thought make sense.

[boxing_rocks]

Conspiracy theory: are the WBA elevating Charr to interim champion in anticipation of Haye picking him as his next opponent?

Or Charr just made the highest bid ?

[lefty]

Conspiracy theory: are the WBA elevating Charr to interim champion in anticipation of Haye picking him as his next opponent?

Or Charr just made the highest bid ?

Lol yeah or that.

[world ranked]

Conspiracy theory: are the WBA elevating Charr to interim champion in anticipation of Haye picking him as his next opponent?

Or Charr just made the highest bid ?

Lol yeah or that.

Well who would money into Manuel Charr at this stage of his career. As soon as he fights anybody he will lose.

[lefty]

Trying to understand the WBA's reasoning for me is akin to trying to understand Mandarin Chinese.

[boxing_rocks]

Or Charr just made the highest bid ?

Lol yeah or that.

Well who would money into Manuel Charr at this stage of his career. As soon as he fights anybody he will lose.

If he ends up fighting Joshua or Klitchko, that is worth a good investment.

[world ranked]

Lol yeah or that.

Well who would money into Manuel Charr at this stage of his career. As soon as he fights anybody he will lose.

If he ends up fighting Joshua or Klitchko, that is worth a good investment.

I guess if the goal is to make ONE paycheck then maybe but how much did the bid to get the title in the first place.

[gilgamesh]

With nonsense like this becoming so commonplace with the WBA I don't understand why anybody even takes that title organization or their belts seriously anymore. The WBA title should be treated as a minor title at this point. They've lost all credibility as a serious sanctioning body.

[Dancin' Dan]

Unfortunately Charr is a "major" joke cough contender compared to Briggs. Last real fight Shannon had was 2010 and he was beaten half to death. Good in his prime but prime was late 90s. It is all a bad joke and unfair to the real contenders.

[asdfjkl]

Well, at least their champions actually fight.

[Like a Boss]

Who is "reportedly claiming" Charr has been elevated to interim WBA titleholder?

Eric Baldwin wrote the article by he provides no source for the claim.

[Freedom]

The WBA has sunk to a new low.

[hulkmaniac]

Manuel Charr and champion in the same sentence.

[Lackeos]

This is another example of "Sh*t the big 4 bodies do that makes them look worse than the IBO."

[SteveO]

I think there may be a mix up about this somewhere along the line.
Manuel Charr is actually the WBA INTERNATIONAL heavyweight champion.
Saying that, nothing would surprise me though.

[bigman1968]

Charr's manager surely has a lot of money to spend.

Who is his manager?

[asdfjkl]

I didn't know he was still alive, the last time I heard about him was when he got KOed by a cruiserweight.
I also remember that Tyrone Spong KOed his opponend at the time in less time as it took that same cruiserweight to KO that same opponend.

[Syntax Error]

Well, I think it's quite fitting that the WBA would give their 'free with a packet of cornflakes' trinket out without the said fighter actually having to box for it.

[Syntax Error]

I think there may be a mix up about this somewhere along the line.
Manuel Charr is actually the WBA INTERNATIONAL heavyweight champion.
Saying that, nothing would surprise me though.

I've always wanted to know what an 'International' champion was.

I take it to mean that the fighter in question is champion everywhere else in the world except their home country.