The World Boxing Association seems to have put reform plans on hold with additional belts and unfathomable title sanctions.
On the back of WBA President Gilberto Mendoza revealing his openness to giving YouTuber Jake Paul a title shot, former welterweight champion Danny Garcia has been handed a highly unwarranted title chance at middleweight.
In a move seemingly to please Premier Boxing Champion and Al Haymon’s plans, the WBA has ratified Erislandy Lara vs. Garcia on the Canelo Alvarez undercard. At the official announcement for Canelo vs. Edgar Berlanga, Lara vs. Garcia was confirmed as chief support. Both received considerable social media groans.
However, the WBA again takes center stage with decisions that no sanctioning body with the sport’s best interests at heart should make. For one, Jake Paul has faced three boxers in his career and has not faced anybody in the top 200, let alone the top fifteen. So how Mendoza can consider Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for any WBA title is beyond comprehension.
Secondly, Garcia has one bout above the 147-pound limit, and that was two years ago. He’s never fought at middleweight, even to garner a title shot. This is further evidence of the WBA sliding back to old habits, habits that led to World Boxing News declassifying the organization in 2021. Nine months later, they earned back their spot with reform plans, which now seem to have been thrown out the window.
The descaling of its champions roster is replaced by adding gold and interim titles again, with several new sanctions made over the last year. Combine this disappointment with the Paul and Garcia mess, and it’s enough for WBN to consider removing the WBA from all title pages for the second time in the future.
World Boxing Association sanctions Lara vs Garcia
When announcing Lara vs Garcia, Canelo Promotions said, “The star-studded co-main event will feature Cuban star and reigning WBA middleweight champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara taking on hard-hitting two-division world champion and Puerto Rican star Danny “Swift” García in a twelve-round showdown between two of this era’s most accomplished fighters.
“With the addition of the Erislandy Lara vs. Danny García world championship battle in the co-main event, plus more matchups to come, everything lines up for an event worthy of the holiday weekend live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in another stacked PBC Pay-Per-View on Prime Video.”
Promotional politics is undoubtedly at play again, and if this trend continues, the WBA will be removed from WBN for good [without reconsideration].
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay. Learn more, read all articles from the experienced boxing writer, and follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
