Even though there had been sightings of the new Zuffa belt over the past few days, its official unveiling took place Wednesday night on social media and the response was something that is all too rare in boxing in that it was nearly unanimous.
It has been well documented how Zuffa is doing its own thing, has no interest in appealing to the status quo of the sanctioning bodies and is trying to make changes to the sport’s ecosystem with new laws.
But a search on social media for humorous comments, remarks from fighters and – yes – positive ones has proved interesting.
One of the main things being pointed out was how the addition of a new belt serves little to help matters when there are already four. The play, of course, is for the other four – the WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF – not to operate in the same sphere, and for Zuffa Boxing to run the show.
Here is an effort to capture the mood with several comments from social media, not including those who simply said it looked like “trash” or that it had been designed by “AI” or was a WWE/UFC knock-off, or that it had been ordered from Temu.
@JJMcC_offical – No kid grows up and wants to win the Zuffa belt they want the WBC the green & gold strap like the past and present Legends boxing heritage.
@TruskoolBoks – Another paper title that will add to the confusion.
@LARAIDERRAID – Actually I’m cool with it, more boxing on T.V and the fights have been good.
@drop_the25940 – You can find a better looking belt on Amazon for about $75.
@agedmusings – I'm for anything that gives us regular, quality boxing matches that are readily available to watch on tv.
@chrisrobwill – That Zuffa boxing belt looks even more Mickey Mouse than I expected.
@JooII254898 – first the turki undisputed belt, which thankfully they dropped, now this thick ugly mess.
@4XAETERNA – That Zuffa boxing belt is hideous.
@Svaziphil_ – For now I am ambivalent about zuffa boxing. But this is an ugly belt !
Meanwhile, Billy Joe Saunders, former champion at 160 and 168, decorated his Instagram story with a picture of the announcement post with eight laughing emojis and “what a load of shit.”
*
There has been speculation in the last couple of weeks about the finances of Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Oscar De La Hoya and, when you consider them in their primes, such talk would have been unfathomable.
And you would like to think that reports for both are wide of the mark.
The embattled De La Hoya has a stable of fighters and a business to run and was always seen, despite his erratic out-of-the-ring issues, as a success story.
Mayweather, too, was one of the few who had beaten the sport, and it is hard to be mad at that.
While there were many who pointed at him fighting this person instead of that person, making fights at weights that suited him and not others, or at times that suited him and not them, when you consider the sport’s body count, of how many fighters are left broke, destitute and damaged, you had to give Mayweather credit for beating a system that few actually do.
**
The culture of promoters squabbling via YouTube channels is pretty toxic and divisive. Not only is it far from being in the sport’s interests, owing to the creation of animosity between the various parties, but it takes a good amount of coverage from those we actually pay to watch: the fighters. Sure, it can be fun, but it can also be very boorish and repetitive, and ultimately there’s never any kind of payoff.
***
The rematch between Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington is long overdue. Their rivalry has not relented in the two years since they first fought, and the ending was the type of finale – not entirely dissimilar to Carl Froch-George Groves I – that screams for an immediate return. It had originally been pegged for the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest in West Bridgford, England. Maybe, should Warrington win this time, a third fight will make it to a soccer stadium, whether it’s in Nottingham or Leeds, where Warrington has incredible support.
****
There is not much left to be said about John Fury’s rant at Carl Froch this week that has not already been said. But at least Froch, who has welcomed any challenge, admitted it was more suited to “Misfits.” That has been a recent downfall of the sport, being unable to distinguish meaningful and legitimate fights from commercial storylines.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.
