168 B.C.
15-round fights, the IBF established a new weight class right between middleweight and light heavyweight. The idea for such a class had been broached before (and had even been tested on a small scale by some state commissions with the inaugural “junior light heavyweight” belt won by Don Fullmer in Utah in 1967), but the IBF made it official. On Wednesday, March 28, 1984, Atlantic City fans jeered as Murray Sutherland won a drab decision over Ernie Singletary to claim this new division’s title. Neither Sutherland nor the weight class nor the upstart IBF generated gobs of interest. Though certain middleweights who enjoyed snacking between meals had high hopes for the new class, many sportswriters were dubious. Already worn out by the World Boxing Council and the World Boxing Association, press row dreaded one more organization, and one more fighter calling himself a “champion.” As for Sutherland, he’d not been informed that a title was at stake until a few weeks before the bout. He’d never heard of the IBF. A native of Scotland who had relocated to Michigan, Sutherland was a 40-11-1 fringe contender who’d already lost a pair of title bids at light heavyweight. Still, even if this belt had no history behind it, Sutherland certainly talked like a proud new titlist. “The next time I fight, you’ll see a more aggressive fighter,” he said, “because I’ll have the confidence that goes with being a champion.” It sounded good, but Sutherland lost the belt in his first defense four months later. The new titleholder, Chong Pal- Park, fought almost exclusively in South Korea for the next three-plus years, defending the obscure crown seven times. When the better-known WBA launched its own super middleweight
When Leonard’s camp floated the idea of a rematch with old rival Hearns, the WBC returned the super middleweight belt to him. This was more marketable than saying Leonard was fighting for Hearns’ WBO belt and would earn the WBC some tasty sanctioning fees. Sportswriters debated the legitimacy of both fighters’ claims to be titlists at 168 (their bout was fought at a catchweight of 164; Leonard weighed 160), while fans were baffled by the increasing paperwork involved in making these fights happen. After a controversial draw with Hearns and a dull win over Roberto Duran, Leonard relinquished the WBC belt again. Italy’s Mauro Galvano and Argentina’s Dario Matteoni fought in Monaco to name his successor. Galvano won on points. By now, it was apparent that not even Leonard could prop up the fledgling weight class, and with most of the contenders being unknowns from far away, he couldn’t make money with them. Perhaps feeling the same way, Hearns dumped his WBO belt to focus on the light heavyweight class. Yet there were glimmers of hope for the super middleweights as the 1990s unfurled. Two of England’s top middleweights, hard-hitting Nigel Benn and flashy Chris Eubank, gave the 168-pound group some much-needed panache. After winning the WBC title from Galvano, Benn made nine successful defenses, including an epic draw with Eubank and his unfortunate 1995 bout with Gerald McClellan. That brutal encounter ended with McClellan suffering permanent injuries. Benn eventually lost the title to Sugar Boy Malinga in 1996. The flamboyant Eubank also owned a super middleweight belt – the still- disparaged WBO version. His winning the vacant title in 1991 was draped in
Andre Ward (left) seized the 168-pound throne with a points win over Carl Froch.
category, Park ditched the IBF belt and won the WBA title by beating Jesus Gallardo. Then he lost it to Fulgencio Obelmejias, a former middleweight who had lost twice to Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Obelmejias promptly lost the belt to another South Korean, In-Chul Baek. Just when it seemed the super middleweight class would remain a junk closet for has-beens and unknowns, another sanctioning body sprouted out of Puerto Rico: the lightly regarded and totally unnecessary World Boxing Organization. On November 4, 1988, Thomas Hearns struggled to win a majority decision over James Kinchen to
claim that new party’s belt at 168. Three days later, the WBC joined the fun and crowned its own super middleweight titlist, Sugar Ray Leonard, who knocked out Donny Lalonde, a light heavyweight titleholder. The super middleweight class had existed for only a short time, but titlists were popping up like mushrooms. The Leonard-Lalonde bout felt like a contrived promotion, seemingly engineered to benefit Leonard. Lalonde’s name meant virtually nothing to the mainstream public, so it was decided that the contest would be for both Lalonde’s WBC light heavyweight belt and the newly minted WBC super middleweight belt. This arrangement
The bout was ridiculous on many levels. For one thing, neither fighter would weigh 175, yet a light heavyweight belt would be contested. It had also long been mandated in boxing that a fighter couldn’t own titles in two classes at once, a detail disregarded during the fight’s buildup. When confronted by critics of the bout, Leonard would smile condescendingly and say the fight was an “event,” as if he were beyond reproach. Shortly after his victory, the WBC announced that, indeed, fighters couldn’t hold belts from two weight classes at once. As he’d probably intended from the start, Leonard relinquished both belts.
gave Leonard a chance to win two titles in one fight. It would also make him a five-division title winner, a trick just turned by Hearns, thanks to the newly born WBO and the new weight class. (In 1988, the WBO meant so little that most considered Leonard the first five-division titlist, but the gradual acceptance of the WBO has since tipped the credit back Hearns’ way.) Moreover, Lalonde agreed to come in at 168, much below his usual weight.
104 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 105
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker