The WBC president, Mauricio Sulaiman announced that there will be a new weight class in boxing. The WBC board has voted in favour of introducing the new weight class in between the current cruiserweight and heavyweight classes. The cruiserweight limit will now drop to 190lbs from 200lbs. The new division will be 224lbs and we’re currently unaware what the weight class will be called.
Current Champions
As we know, the current WBC heavyweight champion is the one and only, Tyson Fury. The undefeated heavyweight king most recently schooled former champion, Deontay Wilder to claim the belt in February.
Don’t expect Fury to drop down into the new weight class, however. In his most recent bout he weighed in at a huge, 273lbs. He was 19lbs heavier for this bout than he was for his fight prior against Otto Wallin.
The current WBC cruiserweight champion is Ilunga Makabu. At an impressive 27-2, notching 24 knockouts on the way, Makabu is a solid competitor. There is no way that Makabu can make 190lbs, so it will be likely that he will move up to 224lbs and compete for the ‘new’ title.
Undisputed Confusion
The new weight class is only being introduced by the WBC at the moment. This leads to confusion when it comes to undisputed champions. As things stand, the undisputed champion in a weight class has to hold the WBC, IBO, WBO and IBF belt. For example, when Oleksander Usyk beat Murat Gassiev, he became the undisputed cruiserweight champion. It begs the question, how will undisputed be determined with the new weight class?
The WBC cruiserweight limit will be different for the WBC in comparison to that of the IBO, WBO and IBF. IBF champion, Mairis Briedis and IBO champion, Kevin Lerena will both still be competing at a cruiserweight limit of 200lbs, leading to confusion when it comes to the question of ‘undisputed’ as the WBO champion will be at 190lbs. This is certainly an issue that needs addressing.
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