WBC Boxing History
WBC, the acronym for World Boxing Council, is the perhaps the most reputable brand name in the “big three” sanctioning organizations, all credit goes to its powerful promoter Don King. Though it is the WBC President Jose Sulaiman who presides over the matters pertaining to the WBC, many sports pundits would say that it really was the WBC promoter Don King that dictates the flow of the production. And the WBC boxing history has telltale signs for confirmation.
But to give credit to an awe-inspiring character, Don King was the face of boxing in the 1970s and 1980s. No other promotions was as successful as he, that even the sanctioning body on which Don King worked for was, some would say, ready to bend rules. And again, the WBC boxing history shows several credence to such charge.
Like when Leon Spinks won the WBC Heavyweight Championship Belt from Muhammad Ali on 1978 in one of the greatest upset in WBC boxing history. He was, after the victory, slated to fight another WBC contender Ken Norton. But Leon Spinks opted to go for a rematch against Ali for the WBA title defense, of which he had stripped Ali prior the defense. Of course it was only natural for WBC to strip Spinks of the title, but when one considers that Norton was a Don King promotion, and the fight between Larry Holmes versus Ken Norton was another Don King promotion, it wasn’t hard to guess where the strings lead.
Don King had an unmatched eye for talent. And not only that, he can foresee the future hype. Maybe that’s how he managed to convince WBC to give his fighters freedom from the mandatory defense title, because he knows that his fighters would be winners for years to come, not in terms of boxing matches but of promotions and advertisements.
It seems that those boxers that flourish under Don King are lucky than most, because King would be there to take care of them. And it happened so many times in the course of the WBC boxing history: from Ali to Tyson, his influence on the sanctioning body was felt. Just like Mike Tyson’s battle and controversial loss to James “Buster” Douglas, whom many have considered one of the biggest upsets of WBC boxing history. Due to the ‘long count’ incident, the WBC refused to hand Buster Douglas the title. Later, amidst intense media scrutiny, WBC would give Buster Douglas the title.
The most atrocious foul committed in the WBC boxing history was without Don King however, it was of corruption. Roy Jones, Jr. was a boxing hero around the 90s, and he punctuated it with wins. It was in early 1998 when Roy Jones, Jr. would decide to give up his WBC Light Heavyweight Title. Soon to follow were splurges of lucrative championship matches to fill the vacancy, until at last it was Graciano Rocchigiani who won the WBC belt.
It was surprisingly short lived, when in a climatic turn of events, WBC rescind the title when Jones rethink and requested to be reinstated as champion. And to the astonishment of all, WBC granted the return, due to a more lucrative defense matches that were to follow.
And came WBC’s near dissolution when Rocchigiani filed a strong lawsuit that would cost them $31 million in damages, though Rocchigiani had to settle for an undisclosed sum.