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The Whole Tooth and Nothing But ...

By Ed de la Vega, DDS


WBC MUST CLEAN UP ITS ACT

PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 08 Nov 2008

Los Angeles, CA: - One of the many causes of the loss of interest, much more respect to professional boxing are sometimes the leading ?boxing bodies? themselves, the so-called alphabet soup title belt issuers like the WBC.

Case in point: - The latest WBC fiasco emanating from Chengdu, China.

Reports indicate that Marco Antonio Barrera, the former 5-time world boxing champion from Mexico who was sent to the retirement farm by the Filipino fireball, Manny Pacquiao had a ?come-back? fight in Chengdu in conjunction with the WBC Convention in that City.

Nothing wrong with ?come-back fights? per se. Many boxers who had gone into retirement, invariably make a come back. Some want to regain their lost glory, and others are just in a tight fix and they have to fight again to make life a wee bit more comfortable financially.

For whatever reason, Barrera made his comeback just this week at ChengDu. Again, as I said, there maybe nothing wrong with that decision. It may be bad for his health, but that is his choice. He knows his body more anybody else.

What was utterly wrong however was not Barrrera?s decision to return but the fact that he was matched against a journeyman, Sammy Ventura , who sports a record of 25-20-0 (17KO).

Ventura had no chance in hell to win a fight against Barrera. As reports indicate, it was a ?terrible mismatch!? In fact, Barrera was noted as ?pulling his punches? but finally ended the fight with a 4th round TKO.

When asked about the mismatched that occurred in conjunction with its own convention, WBC according to a report ?disclaims any responsibility regarding the fight? and noted that it was a Don King promotion and that the WBC ?had nothing to do with the Barrerra-Ventura fight.?

Come, Don Jose Sulaiman, who the hell are you trying to fool?

The fight happened during the WBC convention. And, I am sure many of the delegates that attended your convention witnessed the fight. After all, it was one of the highlights of the week. Further, I would not be surprised if you yourself were in attendance!

Making the public believe that WBC had nothing to do with the Barrera-Ventura fight is pure hogwash! As the saying goes ?It ain?t going to fly, my man!?

So what if it was put up by the Don King Promotions? One way or another, the WBC is part of it. It was part of your convention activities!

Guilty by association is the better way to put it. You knew it was going to happen. And, I am sure WBC is aware of the fighter?s records.

If you claim that you did not know their records, then you are guilty of negligence. As a boxing body that takes pride in its ?prestige and credibility?, isn?t it your responsibility to know who is fighting at an event that is done in conjunction with your convention?

On the other hand, if you knew the fighter?s records and the obvious mismatch but allowed it to happen so as not to disrupt the set activities of your convention, that it is even worse!

Your total disregard for the fighter?s safety is appalling and unbecoming of an organization that purportedly sets the standards in safety.

So what if it was a Don King promotion. You could have easily nixed it if you wished. After all, it was happening in your own convention!

Come on WBC, clean up your act.

Do what you say and say what you do.

Playing the ?denial? game is not going to work. People are smarter than you think and they will not take it by being quiet anymore.

What say you, Don Jose?



Click here for a complete listing of columns by this author.

Click here for a complete listing of this author's articles from different news sources.

 



 
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