Boxing has a present heavyweight champion acknowledged by one in every of its organizations who hasn’t defended the title in seven years.
Step ahead, Mahmoud Charr. The Lebanese-born German has been on an unprecedented run of holding the WBA ‘common’ belt on two events, by no means placing it on the road in that timeframe. The WBA topped Charr in 2017, persevering with a secondary title development that polarizes followers and media. Charr claimed the strap in November of that 12 months. He defeated Alexander Ustinov through a twelve-round unanimous resolution in Oberhausen, Germany.
By lifting the little-regarded crown on the Koenig Pilsener Area, Charr put himself within the body for important challenges, like being the necessary challenger for the ‘tremendous’ heavyweight title.
Amazingly, Charr can win a ‘title’ and never put it on the road for 3 and a half years. And when he did strive, Visa points stopped him from going through Trevor Bryan in 2021. The unhappy truth is Charr didn’t grace the ring all that point, and the WBA did nothing with the strap. His title didn’t go up for grabs in three years and two months.
His first title opponent, Ustinov, competed 3 times within the interim as Charr’s profession stalled. This drawback arose attributable to an impending and ordered struggle in opposition to Bryan, his then-WBA necessary.
The Heavyweight Champion who by no means defended the belt
Earlier than the 2019 Bryan order, Charr held talks with Fres Oquendo. A former quantity contender who received a court docket case to struggle for the WBA ‘common’ belt regardless of being out of motion since 2014. Authorized battles ultimately took Oquendo an age in his pursuit. And by the point the struggle may happen, ‘The Massive O’ was too outdated.
Nevertheless, unbelievably – throughout all that mess and pink tape, Oquendo continues to be combating for compensation for a rematch with Ruslan Chagaev that by no means emerged. Due to this fact, the WBA moved on to stipulate that Charr should face Bryan. Lastly, a deal was struck for 2020 regardless of Oquendo beforehand difficult that ruling, too. Don King paid an eye-watering two million {dollars} at a Panama purse bid to stage the competition.
Because the boxing world held its breath that Charr would put his strap on the road as soon as and for all, the pandemic struck and put the breaks on once more. This meant Charr confronted the actual risk he couldn’t struggle till the tip of 2020 or early 2021 – an entire three-year absence and extra since successful the title.
The Oquendo curse stemming from the Chagaev struggle was handed on to Charr, maintaining the WBA ‘common’ crown out of fee. Finally, the WBA stripped Charr when his visa failed for a January 2021 conflict with Bryan in Miami.
Mahmoud Charr stripped
With Mahmoud Charr unable to carry out on the Friday present in South Florida, Don King, Bryan’s promoter, deliberate to proceed with adjustments to the scheduled headliner. The Corridor of Fame promoter requested a secondary WBA heavyweight title struggle between Bryan and former WBC champion Bermane Stiverne in a WBA petition.
Although everybody knew Haitian-Canadian professional boxer Stiverne wouldn’t pose a lot of a problem attributable to not having received a struggle in years himself, the WBA accredited. Bryan received the belt earlier than dropping it dismally to Daniel Dubois only a few months later. And right here’s the place the entire episode will get much more unusual.
The belt was attributable to expire when Dubois fought Oleksandr Usyk. The struggle was scheduled for August 2023. Earlier than the primary bell, the WBA said that just one champion would emerge within the aftermath to alleviate everybody concerned within the sport.
The mess was attributable to be sorted out as soon as and for all, resulting in the entire and overdue disbandment of the belt altogether. Nevertheless, this wasn’t the case.
Usyk defeated Dubois through stoppage, and the title disappeared for a couple of weeks. In a surprising flip of occasions, Charr popped again up in September 2023 to regain the championship by default. He received a authorized problem in opposition to his stripping by the WBA, which left every part that occurred in between, from Bryan to Dubois to Usyk, out of date.
The Historical past of the WBA Common Title
The secondary high division WBA crown was initially created in 2011 when David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko fought for the ‘tremendous’ model for the primary time. Alexander Povetkin was then acknowledged because the maiden holder of the common belt when successful a vacant title match-up.
Since Povetkin, the WBA has confronted an uphill battle persuading anybody that the ‘common’ title is a bonafide championship. Not many individuals within the sport have any of it.
It was assumed that the WBA would push the ‘common’ holder to an eventual assembly with the ‘tremendous’ champion, like a stepping stone to the primary title. Nevertheless, since Povetkin misplaced to Klitschko and the WBA declared the ‘common’ vacant, the champion has by no means been led to consider they’d get a full shot. It grew to become a standalone title.
Splitting the sanctioning charges for heavyweight bouts is profitable for the WBA. However constantly leaving champions on the shelf for 2 years or extra shouldn’t be a technique to make any cash. Charr hasn’t defended it but in one other ten months, proving that the strap wants exile as quickly as doable.
Charr’s final makes an attempt to defend in opposition to Kubrat Pulev bought struck down by damage. This state of affairs means Charr will quickly be forty and nonetheless possesses the title he first received in 2017.
In simply 4 months, will probably be a full seven years because the belt went up for grabs.
Learn all articles and unique interviews by Phil Jay. Study extra in regards to the creator, skilled boxing author, and World Boxing Information Editor since 2010. Observe on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
