Mauricio Sulaiman Announces Plan to Place Jake Paul in WBC Rankings
In another pitiful turn of events, the famed boxing sanctioning body, the WBC (World Boxing Council) has chosen to align themselves with popularity over integrity. This is due to their announcement that they have every intention of placing YouTuber Jake “The Problem Child” Paul (5-0, 4 KO’s) in the rankings if Paul wins his next contest. On August 6, The Problem Child will face the challenge of Hasim “Gold Blooded” Rahman Jr (12-1, 6 KO’s) at Madison Square Garden.
The WBC’s plan to rank him is deplorable for a number of reasons. To begin, Rahman will be the first professional boxer that Paul has ever even fought. In fact, all but one of his four of his opponents staged their boxing debut against the YouTube sensation. The only reason that 100% of his opposition weren’t in their debut is because he re-matched faded MMA star Tyrone Woodley. Even when taking Gold Blooded into consideration, his resume looks more like the first season of Tales from the Crypt. This is due to being littered with half-dead, bloodied, battered and terrorized journeymen primed and ready to be Thriller extras. To make matters worse, Rahman is coming into the fight with Paul directly off a fifth round TKO loss.
FRANCHISE FAKE OUT
This shameless ploy to cozy up to another popular social figure is rather tasteless. Yet, the WBC has been particularly busy at watering down the sport in order to advance their own prerogatives. A few years back, the WBC cursed the boxing world with the creation of their ridiculous “Franchise Champion” belt. In large part, the trinket is just a method for popular fighters to avoid tough fights. Initially, the Franchise belt was just a designation and not an actual championship status. When it became convenient for the WBC to cannibalize their own rules however, that’s just what they did. They did this by saying Franchise belt-holders were now actually champions.
Regrettably, after this transition, the Franchise belt went from being a mere irritation to blossoming into a legit problem. This manifested as the sanctioning organization began calling 135-pound fighters Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos “undisputed” for having three of the four belts minus the WBC lightweight title held by Devin Haney. This was an outright lie that they willfully perpetrated. It was a lie that also undermined their very own champion, Devin Haney. Haney would go on to become the legitimate undisputed lightweight champion.
MUD IS CLEAN TODAY!
Trashing their own protocols is not limited to the Franchise Belt debacle either. Recently, when two-division champion Oscar Valdez popped dirty for PED’s, the WBC oddly decided to declare that he was innocent despite the damning scientific proof. This was all the more shocking because the WBC publicly prides itself on running the Clean Boxing Program in which they work closely with VADA (Voluntary Anti Doping Agency). Sadly however, when it came time to enforce consequences, the WBC chose to do what was easy rather than what was right.
They turned a similar blind eye when boxing cash cow and undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez popped dirty. Technically speaking, they did suspend him, yet it was for such a small period of time that it in no way affected his fighting schedule. The same organization would be suspiciously quick to strip two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez to make it available for Alvarez to win.
Also, following along their apparent mission to water down the sport, the WBC recently created the needless bridgerweight division. Like the Franchise belt, this new division was the last thing that boxing wanted. The fan base already complains endlessly that the 17 divisions, with four potential champions apiece, is already way too many as is. Shoveling this new weight class down the peoples’ throats is sure to improve nothing. Yet, as has been outlined, the WBC is clearly not thinking about the betterment of the sport but rather how to make short term spectacles to advance their own financial and political agendas.
Reading Time: 4 minutes
By: Bakari Simpson
