WHAT ARE RATINGS FOR?
By Ed de la Vega, DDS
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 02 Nov 2015
The different boxing organizations that provide the ?belt? at stake in title fights created the 1 to 10 rating to rank the various fighters behind a current champion. Although not all of the organizations agree as to who is rated above or below someone, at least they each have a list of boxers they believe should be rated as potential challengers to the champion.
But those who are responsible in ranking people many times contradict themselves and once in a great while in doing so, they make themselves look silly.
Case in point: The WBO Light Flyweight Division
The division championship is held by Donnie Nietes of the Philippines. Nietes successfully defended his belt as many times, the latest being in October 17th at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA where he beat the challenge of Juan?Pinky? Alejo of Mexico.
Following the rating system, the next boxer in line as the mandatory challenger is Paipharob Kokietgym. But apparently this isn?t so.
In February while Nietes was preparing for his voluntary title defense against Luis Ceja of Mexico, WBO suddenly stepped in and required that Nietes defend instead against the then No. 1 contender, Francisco Rodriguez who is the mandatory challenger.
Nietes did not have too much of a choice as Rodriguez being the designated no. 1 challenger earned that right. More importantly, WBO said so! Nietes went ahead and did as he was told and beat Rodriguez in a dandy little fight. Nietes scored a clean unanimous decision.
Now reports indicate that WBO has again wielded their ugly sword of influence. Apparently WBO is allowing a fight between Francisco Rodriguez Jr and Moises Fuentes as an ?eliminator? to determine the next challenger to Donnie Nietes.
WBO for some reason (money or politics being one or both reasons) decided that the winner between Rodriguez and Fuentes in a fight to be set in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico on December 12th will fight Nietes for his title conveniently forgetting that Nietes has already beaten both of them.
But worse, WBO is circumventing their own rating system which indicates that a pug from Thailand named Paipharob Kokietgym is currently the number 1 challenger and should then be the mandatory challenger immediately next for Nietes to fight.
Fuentes is no. 2 and Rodriguez, no. 5. How can they jump over those who are ahead of them?
What WBO is doing is not fair to Kokietgym or the no. 3 and 4 contenders Akira Yaegeshi of Japan and Raul Garcia respectively of Mexico.
I can only speculate as to why the No. 1 rated Thai is being overpassed.
Could it perhaps be money! After all, they don?t call the business ?prize fight? for nothing, do they?
All the boxing organizations live or die by the ?sanction fees? they collect from fights where in a ?belt? from their organization is at stake. So, it goes to reason, they will pick to sanction a fight that that has the highest potential to deliver more cash to WBO.
I am not too sure what kind of money can be made putting Nietes up against the Kokietgym. But perhaps WBO has an idea therefore, for their benefit they are planning an eliminator between two rated Mexicans who can possibly deliver a higher sanction fee if they are matched against Nietes, particularly if done in Mexico or even in California.
Therefore, the winner between Fuentes and Rodriguez will be designated as the mandatory challenger for Nietes, ratings be damned!
So I ask: - Why have ratings if you don?t follow them?
Photo: Nietes connects with a left over Rodriguez during their title fight last year.
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