BoxRec

BRANCO

how can they seriously warrant that?

Witter must be gutted but more seriously this is piss poor opponent for Cotto.

Yep, let's hear the Hatton haters slate him for fighting Ben Rabah now.

If you think thats bad try and check Alejandro Garcias next opponent in his WBA 154 defense.

dont think branco is a bad opponent for cotto. hes not been stopped,and in all probability will be negative and defensive, and behave like like a bam.it just might take cotto the distance.for your average punter it might not be an exciting fight,but cotto is still learning. at least cotto is fighting fairly often,and we should be thankful for that.
also i would love to see any of the brancos get battered because in italy the boxing really is corrupt.they have fed the branco boys on novices and low grade imports for years as well as pulling every trick in the book to spook and harass any opponent who looked like he was getting on top.
i for one,will enjoy seeing the bully get bullied

Branco pulls out of a fight with Witter with no plausible explanation, then gets a shot at a title before Junior.

Its an extremely unfair sport at times

Chambers2 wrote:Branco pulls out of a fight with Witter with no plausible explanation, then gets a shot at a title before Junior.

Its an extremely unfair sport at times

What are the odds Branco puts on a shit show against Cotto and earns himself a WBC shot?

If you are a respected over the hill fighter or have a good record without being a serious threat, then you can get title shot after title shot, but if you are a dangerous opponent thenyou get hung out to dry. What the fornicate are these organisations playing at?

Lets remember that this is a voluntary defense so Cotto can pick anyone he wants from the WBO top 15. It will also mean one less person to compete with for the WBC mandatory spot for Witter.

It's total bullshit, Scott Pemberton beats Omar Sheika twice and who gets the shot at Jeff Lacy? Sheika These sanctioning clowns all need exterminating.

Freiheit wrote:Lets remember that this is a voluntary defense so Cotto can pick anyone he wants from the WBO top 15. It will also mean one less person to compete with for the WBC mandatory spot for Witter.

Was Abdulaev a mandatory because Cotto's defenses since winning the title haven't been against the best opposition. Quite frankly I am slowly getting dissapointed.

Abdullaev was not the mandatory (Im 95% sure he wasnt). Hatton was the #1 rated.

Freiheit wrote:Abdullaev was not the mandatory (Im 95% sure he wasnt). Hatton was the #1 rated.

So when is Cotto's mandatory due?

9 months from when he won it (so that would be last month?) but WBO has a lot of exceptions, such as:

The Mandatory Challenger may be selected and determined by the World Championship Committee according to the current list of the best-classified boxers, promulgated by the WBO Classification Committee. For the purposes of designation of the Mandatory Challenger, the current list of the Classifications is that which corresponds to the month for which the determination is to be made that the World Champion is obliged to defend his Title against the Mandatory Challenger, or any other date in which the World Championship Committee may determine, for just cause.

When a Champion must make a mandatory defense, the Mandatory Challenger shall be the highest classified available boxer who, in the judgment of the World Championship Committee, best satisfies the following criteria:

1) has a record acceptable to the World Championship Committee, and who, because of accomplishment and achievement, is recognized by the World Championship Committee as a class boxer; and

2) Complies with the WBO and Association of Boxing Commissions Criteria for the Ratings of Professional Boxers; and

3) In the event that the Champion has a contract with a major television network (HBO, SHOWTIME, ZDF, Sky or other similar broadcast company), is an acceptable challenger to the Champion’s television network.

The designation of a Mandatory Challenger creates an obligation on behalf of the Champion to defend against the designated Mandatory Challenger as a condition to the Champion’s retention of the title, which obligation may be subject to modification or extension by the Championship Committee for good cause, such as (but not limited to) participation by the Champion in a unification bout or a unification tournament on such terms and conditions as the Championship Committee approves. The designation of Mandatory Challenger does not create rights in the Challenger, and may be subject to such conditions, modification, or extension as the Championship Committee determines.

That a Champion has signed a contract for the defense of his championship, even against a Mandatory Challenger approved and designated by the Committee, shall not of itself constitute compliance with these Regulations, unless the Championship defense actually takes place within the stipulated time period.

The july 2005 rankings:
1. Ricardo Torres COL
2. Naoufel Ben Radah (Asia-Pacific) AUST (fights in IBF eliminator)
3. Junior Witter (EBU) GB
4. Mike Arnaoutis (NABO) GRE
5. Kostya Tzsyu RUS
6. Gianluca Branco ITA
7. Kendall Holt (Int-Cont) USA
8. Juan Urango COL (fights in IBF eliminator)
9. DeMarcus Corley USA
10. Vivian Harris GUY
11. David Diaz USA
12. Mohammad Abdulaev UZK
13. Andrea Kotelnik UKR
14. Arturo Morúa (Latino) MEX
15. Jeffrey Resto USA

This is just one aspect of the stinking side of this sport.
A loser can really be the winner

Another part that stinks is how they build up the name young prospects, this is not a dig at just Amir Khan but just about every other name prospect.

It seems if a fighter can put bums on seats he`s given the golden ticket, you know the easy fights over mis-matched opponents.

I recently met a fella who used to coach at my old gym, I asked him does he now follow the game, he said no, part of the reason he said was lack of fights on TV and also he didn`t like the pro side.
Too many one sided fights he said, he pointed out that with amateurs mis-matches were less common, and he had a good point when I thought about it.

Think about it, in the amateurs you are matched on weight, age and experience, would a good club coach put one of their boys in with less than a 50% chance of winning?

Would a senior having his first or second contest get matched with a boxer who had had 50+ schoolboy fights but was making his first senior fight?

Would a coach then enter his boxer in a division 2up from what he knows his boxer normally fights at?

These mis-matches are all too frequent in the game, and are they really helping the boxer? ask Conception

Chris Aston recently said in BN he liked to test his fighters from early on like the good Mexicans and Asian fighters do, this is a risky buisness but makes sense.
An early defeat can help not hinder, it can also highlight a major flaw.

How many of the greats were brought up fed so much fodder like the British boxers who have a name do?

Oscar De La Hoya was winning the WBO title against a very usefull fighter in his 12th fight.
Pernell Whitaker was also winning a title around this time.
And so was David Reid for that matter

Too much is given to a fighter who puts bums on seats and the real talent can get overlooked if they don`t sell out the place AKA Herol Graham.

Sure the cream does sometimes rise to the top but I bet alot more knock it on the head long before this.

Steve Robinson got very lucky and made the most of a bad situation, how many fighters would benefit by being able to fight at their desired weight and given proper time to prepare, and what if they had specialists who gave them expert advise on how to lose their weight properly for the weigh in....and didn`t have to work on the day of the fight.

So much stinks and makes you wonder why you love the sport so much

Freiheit wrote:9 months from when he won it (so that would be last month?) but WBO has a lot of exceptions, such as:

The Mandatory Challenger may be selected and determined by the World Championship Committee according to the current list of the best-classified boxers, promulgated by the WBO Classification Committee. For the purposes of designation of the Mandatory Challenger, the current list of the Classifications is that which corresponds to the month for which the determination is to be made that the World Champion is obliged to defend his Title against the Mandatory Challenger, or any other date in which the World Championship Committee may determine, for just cause.

When a Champion must make a mandatory defense, the Mandatory Challenger shall be the highest classified available boxer who, in the judgment of the World Championship Committee, best satisfies the following criteria:

1) has a record acceptable to the World Championship Committee, and who, because of accomplishment and achievement, is recognized by the World Championship Committee as a class boxer; and

2) Complies with the WBO and Association of Boxing Commissions Criteria for the Ratings of Professional Boxers; and

3) In the event that the Champion has a contract with a major television network (HBO, SHOWTIME, ZDF, Sky or other similar broadcast company), is an acceptable challenger to the Champion’s television network.

The designation of a Mandatory Challenger creates an obligation on behalf of the Champion to defend against the designated Mandatory Challenger as a condition to the Champion’s retention of the title, which obligation may be subject to modification or extension by the Championship Committee for good cause, such as (but not limited to) participation by the Champion in a unification bout or a unification tournament on such terms and conditions as the Championship Committee approves. The designation of Mandatory Challenger does not create rights in the Challenger, and may be subject to such conditions, modification, or extension as the Championship Committee determines.

That a Champion has signed a contract for the defense of his championship, even against a Mandatory Challenger approved and designated by the Committee, shall not of itself constitute compliance with these Regulations, unless the Championship defense actually takes place within the stipulated time period.

The july 2005 rankings:
1. Ricardo Torres COL
2. Naoufel Ben Radah (Asia-Pacific) AUST (fights in IBF eliminator)
3. Junior Witter (EBU) GB
4. Mike Arnaoutis (NABO) GRE
5. Kostya Tzsyu RUS
6. Gianluca Branco ITA
7. Kendall Holt (Int-Cont) USA
8. Juan Urango COL (fights in IBF eliminator)
9. DeMarcus Corley USA
10. Vivian Harris GUY
11. David Diaz USA
12. Mohammad Abdulaev UZK
13. Andrea Kotelnik UKR
14. Arturo Morúa (Latino) MEX
15. Jeffrey Resto USA

No offence to you for posting that Freiheit (in fact, fair play to you for finding it). but I stopped reading that well before the end. My God, the WBO are a even more of a joke than I thought. And that's saying something.