On 13 November 1999, Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield on points over 12 rounds to become what is referred to as the undisputed world heavyweight champion. Going into the fight, he held the WBC title and in defeating Holyfield he claimed Evander’s WBA and IBF titles.
In May of this year, Oleksandr Usyk faced Tyson Fury in a highly anticipated showdown. A significant part of the marketing for the fight was that it would crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lewis. The difference this time is that we are now in what some people like to refer to as the “four belt era”. The belts being referred to are the WBC, WBA, IBF, and the WBO.
But wait a minute. The WBO were very much in existence in 1999 when Lennox Lewis was heralded as the undisputed champion. They had been collecting sanctioning fees from heavyweight title fights for ten years by this point. How did Lewis come to only have three of the four belts and yet still hold this mythical title? How could he be undisputed if the WBO disputed it?
Very much like the Jurassic era or the Bronze Age, it is almost impossible to say with any certainty when exactly the “four belt era” began. But it is generally considered that we were still living through the “three belt era” (although no one was calling it that) back at the turn of the century. Certainly, no one ever claimed that Muhammad Ali was the greatest heavyweight of the “two belt era” back in the 70s.
It is probably unwise to bring it to the attention of readers that in both Lewis-Holyfield 2 and Fury-Usyk, the IBO title was also at stake. Have we been in the “five belt era” all along and not even realised?
The evolution of the various sanctioning bodies has been a predictably chaotic process. Back in the mid-80s boxing fans were fuming at the existence of just two rival bodies, the WBC and WBA. During the latter period of Ali’s reign as champion, the WBC and WBA had lived in relative harmony, each recognising The Greatest as champion of the world. However, when Ali lost to Leon Spinks, the WBC took it upon themselves to strip Spinks of their title for his decision to face Ali in a rematch. The titles were splintered and for several years a coming together seemed as unlikely as an Oasis reunion.
By the end of 1983, the dominant heavyweight of the early 1980s, WBC champion Larry Holmes was faced with a mandatory defence against Greg Page for a purse he deemed inadequate. Holmes felt there were easier fights for better money out there. It just so happened that the IBF had recently appeared. Despite their presence being about as welcome as that of Harry and Meghan appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony, just like that, Holmes walked away from the WBC title and into the arms of the IBF. Like an Agatha Christie novel in reverse, now there were three. Whereas the crowning of Larry Holmes gave the IBF immediate recognition, the process was much slower for the runt of this particular litter, the WBO.
As the end of the 1980s drew near, no one doubted who the heavyweight champion of the world was. Mike Tyson had collected the belts of the WBC, WBA and the IBF. Supporters of Michael Spinks argued that he had a claim to the real title, but it took Tyson just 91 seconds to settle that argument. It was into this period of rare and precious consensus that the WBO made their unwelcome entrance.
There was a full ten years between the first WBO world heavyweight title fight and Lennox Lewis staking his claim to be undisputed heavyweight champion; a claim which essentially told the WBO that in heavyweight terms they were still irrelevant. Ten years, 19 fights and nine champions. The journey started in Italy, ended in Germany, with stops along the way in places such as Kansas City, Millwall, Las Vegas, Norwich, and Nashville. As with many long journeys, in revisiting it, some readers may require a sick bag.
The first WBO world heavyweight title fight took place in a lower league Italian football stadium on 6 May 1989. The vacant title was contested by Italian Francesco Damiani and Johnny Du Plooy of South Africa. Damiani was unbeaten as a professional and had a very good amateur pedigree, despite legendary British commentator, Reg Gutteridge, describing him as having “a face like a farmer and a body like a wrestler.”
The first two and half rounds were evenly contested before a hook to the jaw sent Du Plooy down looking like he had been shot. He lay motionless for the full count before appearing to recover quickly upon knowing that any danger of further hostilities had passed.
Damiani made his first defence in his home country against Argentinian, Daniel Eduardo Neto. Neto was unbeaten but had never fought outside his home country before and weighed in at under 200lbs. Damiani stopped him in the second round.
Next up for Damiani was a chance for him to make a breakthrough in the US with a defence against unbeaten “Merciless” Ray Mercer. Unfortunately for Francesco, in the ninth round Mercer made a breakthrough in the Italian’s defence with an uppercut that broke the Italian’s nose. Damiani went down from the punch and was counted out.
Tommy Morrison made a fast start in his challenge for the title against Mercer in Atlantic City on 18 October 1991, before the champion turned the tide in the fourth round. A Mercer right hand was the beginning of the end in the fifth round, knocking Morrison back into the ropes. Mercer unloaded a brutal combination with Morrison helpless and only being held partially upright by the ropes. The referee, Tony Perez, was several punches too late in stepping between the fighters. It was several minutes before Morrison was able to leave the ring unaided. The photo of an unconscious Morrison sliding down the ropes, still taking shots from Mercer and his face distorted by Ray’s fist, is one of the iconic boxing images.
Rather than face mandatory challenger, Michael Moorer, champion Mercer opted to vacate the title to face the comebacking former champion Larry Holmes. Mercer was the first of four fighters to vacate the WBO heavyweight title in its first ten years of existence. Ray may have later regretted that decision as the aging Holmes proved too crafty for him and outpointed him over 12 rounds.
The WBO next ordered a match between Moorer and Smokin’ Bert Cooper for the vacant title. Moorer was unbeaten in 28 fights, while Cooper came into the fight with a record of 27-8. They met in Atlantic City in May 1992 and produced one of the fights of the year. Both men hit the deck in the opening round. Moorer was down again in the third round before coming back to finish Cooper off in the fifth.
Would such a magnificent slugfest prove to be lift off for the WBO title? No. Moorer felt his career would be better served without their belt and vacated the title. Tommy Morrison had fought his way back into, if not genuine contention, then at least the affection of the WBO. He was matched against George Foreman for the once again vacant belt in June 1993. Foreman went into the Morrison fight as favourite, but Tommy surprised many observers by utilising boxing skills over 12 rounds to claim a points decision and the title. Incredibly. this setback did not prevent Foreman from making history in his next fight when he knocked out Moorer in the eleventh round to claim the much more widely recognised IBF title.
If the objective of the WBO was to gain credibility for themselves and their titles, then the events of 30 August 1993 would only serve to have the opposite effect. Morrison was scheduled to make his first defence of the title in Kansas City against Mike Williams. However, come fight night, Williams refused to fight. Incredibly, a fighter by the name of Tim Tomashek happened to be in the crowd and accepted the invitation to step in as the ultimate last-minute replacement. Tomashek was recorded as having a record of 34-10. He made it through four rounds with the champion before calling it a day at the end of that round. Tomashek must have awoken the following morning, like another famous Kansas resident, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, wondering if it had all been a dream.
Morrison, meanwhile, was dreaming of a showdown with Lennox Lewis and just needed to get a tune up defence against Michael Bentt out of the way. But it was Bentt who turned up, tuned in and dropped Morrison three times in the first round in a shocking upset win in October 1993.
Bentt was then lured to a football stadium in London for a first defence against British fighter, Herbie Hide. It was an awful night for the American, who was dropped twice and then knocked out in the seventh round. He fell into a coma after the contest and although he made a recovery, would never fight again.
The title changed hands again immediately as Hide was bounced off the canvas seven times in a six-round stoppage loss to Riddick Bowe in Las Vegas in March 1995. Bowe then brushed aside the challenge of the huge Cuban, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, in his first defence, just three months later.
It may have appeared that the WBO might finally mean something with Bowe as champion. Wrong again. Bowe ditched the belt in favour of a trilogy match with old rival, Evander Holyfield.
This time, the vacant title was contested by Henry Akinwande and Jeremy Williams; a fight with all the glamour of Damiani-Du Plooy. Williams had been a late substitute for Alexander Zolkin. Akinwande became the new WBO champion by stopping Williams in three rounds before giving Zolkin his opportunity in his first defence. The Russian fighter was dropped in the fourth round and then stopped on a cut in round ten.
By WBO standards, Henry Akinwande was becoming something of a long reigning champion as he entered a second defence against fellow Brit, Scott Welch. Two Britons fighting for a version of the world heavyweight title and the fight was staged in Nashville. Akinwande didn’t lose a single round to retain the title on points.
At this point, Akinwande decided to join the illustrious company of Mercer, Moorer, and Bowe, by giving up the title. Akinwande felt he had a better offer in a challenge for the WBC title held by Lennox Lewis. It did not go well as he was disqualified in the fifth round for excessive holding.
Victories over Michael Murray and Frankie Swindell bizarrely catapulted Herbie Hide back into the title reckoning for the great minds at the WBO, and he was matched with the faded Tony Tucker for the vacant title. Tucker, who must have been utterly disorientated by finding himself in Norwich for a world title fight, had his senses further discombobulated by Hide’s fast hands, being dropped three times and stopped in the second round.
Any misguided fools who wanted to give any credibility to the WBO at this point could now herald Hide for joining Floyd Patterson as a two-time heavyweight champion of the world. I felt nauseous even typing that.
Hide’s second reign as champion was far from glorious. He quickly dispatched the overmatched Damon Reed and Willi Fischer in his first two defences, before running into a heavyweight who could really fight, Vitali Klitschko. The man who is now a Ukrainian war hero, crushed Hide in two rounds to take the title in London in June 1999 to bring to a close the first decade of the WBO heavyweight championship.
Vitali Klitschko, of course, went on to have a highly distinguished career in the ring before retiring and moving into politics.
Nearly a quarter of a century on and the WBO have established themselves as part of the boxing establishment. No better or worse than the other three organizations, they are highlighted here only to give them the ridicule that they deserve. The emergence of the “four belt era” was not a sign of progress for the sport and it is puzzling when it is referred to as something substantial and noteworthy by members of the boxing media. More voices need to point out that these self-important Emperors are not wearing any clothes.
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