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Fans Won’t Stop Attacking WBC’s New Belt for Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia Winner, and They Have a Point

Published 04/19/2024, 4:55 PM EDT

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There was a time when the World Boxing Council (WBC)’s belts were revered to be the most important. Each fighter would strive their career at lengths to bag it, and only when it happened, would they consider themselves a champion. However, today, the scenario is different. It seems like the importance of the belts under the WBC is getting diluted, and the blame is all attributed to the sanctioning body.

On May 4th, super middleweight undisputed champion, Canelo Alvarez will fight Jaime Munguia. For that fight, while all of Canelo’s championship belts will anyway be on the line, the WBC has introduced a new belt, a commemorative one. Fans, however, remain unpleased and have highlighted how these belts by the WBC are not good at a larger scale.

A Belt for the Mexican Titans

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Last night, in Salon Castillo of Hotel Presidente, Mexico City, the WBC held a grand unveiling of a grand belt, titled, “Tamaulipas Belt.” The belt was inducted to commemorate the fact that two of the best Mexican fighters of this era would be clashing against each other.

Sulaiman Mauricio, the President of the WBC, explained that the belt holds a significant place for him as both his parents are of Mexican origin. However, to the core of it, he explained in a press release, “The tension is building. Munguia has everything to gain while Canelo has everything to maintain as the King of Boxing. Once again two Mexicans are capturing the attention of the entire world. When two Mexicans fight, they are fighting for respect, their nation, and their neighborhood. Neither wants to go back home as the loser.”

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Boxing reporter, Michael Benson uploaded the picture of the new belt on his X feed. While the WBC would have hoped to rake some excitement for the new belt, it seems like they have failed to impress most fans.

So many belts for Canelo Alvarez!

One user compared the way boxing has many belts to the only belt the UFC has. They argued that the latter keeps the competition lively with the importance of belts being reserved for the ultimate champion. They also suggested that boxing do away with all the various belts it has at the moment.

Another user took direct aim at Mauricio Sulaiman, underscoring with a tinge of sarcasm that the prez knew only to make new belts.

Lately, the body has been under fire for being lenient toward Canelo. David Benavidez is his mandatory challenger for the WBC belt. Yet, the body has not called for that fight, aligning with Canelo’s wishes to not fight him. Based on this premise, a user took some swipes at the body.

Based on the same argument, another user underscored the very evident favoritism the body has shown toward Canelo by commissioning multiple belts to commemorate many of his fights.

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What’s a boxing fan without a hint of sarcasm? Another fan summarized the entire argument fans have against this ordeal.

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In these comments, emerges a valid argument about how sanctioning bodies, like the WBC in particular, are operating these days. They’ve lost some credibility lately, and that’s a concern. Was a special belt for this event really necessary? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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Written by:

Mohammed Shafiulla

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Mohammed Shafiulla is a Boxing writer at EssentiallySports. With a Master’s degree in Journalism from a reputed institute, Shafi has cemented his position as one of the astute observers of boxing at ES. One of the early supporters of Naoya Inoue, Shafi has covered his transition from a Japanese boxer with a niche fan following to a power-punching global boxing star.
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Edited by:

Gokul Pillai