WBC has lost all credibility by elevating Tommy Fury to top 40 – his win over Jake Paul was as real as WWE
NINE-FIGHT novice Tommy Fury’s absurd WBC elevation to a top-40 cruiserweight unsurprisingly got the derision it deserves.
It’s Fury’s outrageous reward for a points victory against over-hyped YouTube star Jake Paul — who is barely a half-decent amateur — in Riyadh a couple of weeks ago.
I suggested anyone who took the meeting between these two celebrity learner fighters seriously must believe WrestleMania is for real.
Obviously the WBC has. It’s a wonder it didn’t make Love Island’s Tommy mandatory challenger to world champion Ilunga Makabu.
It not only lost what little credibility it had left but also enraged many leading boxing personalities.
John H Stracey, one of Britain’s most respected ex-world champions, was a national hero when he went to Mexico City and beat the legendary Jose Napoles in six rounds to win the WBC welterweight title in 1975.
When he retired three years later Stracey was invited to be a WBC ambassador — a role he has held conscientiously and with pride.
But that hasn’t inhibited him from fearlessly attacking the organisation he represents over the Fury fiasco.
Fuming John told me: “I have been in touch with several ex-fighters and they all agree it’s shameful the way the WBC has made a complete mockery of its rankings system.
“I certainly won’t be pulling any punches when I let the WBC president know how angry I am when I next speak to him.
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“What has happened is laughable. But I don’t suppose young fighters sweating their guts out, winning meaningful fights having been overlooked in favour of Fury will find it funny.”
The WBC certainly didn’t cover itself in glory last month over Conor Benn’s failed drug test.
It ruled the banned women’s fertility drug clomiphene found in his system was the result of his eating too many eggs.
Being facetious, it’s a pity the WBC didn’t reveal if Conor liked his eggs fried, boiled, poached or scrambled.
Thomas Jefferson, America’s third President, said: “Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.”
Even Conor was embarrassed by the WBC’s reasoning.
He said: “At no point did I indicate that I failed any tests because of contaminated eggs.”
When it comes to brass neck ingenuity the Oscar goes to Dennis Mitchell.
Tyson Fury blamed eating uncastrated wild boar for nandrolone being found in his dope test while Canelo Alvarez put clenbuterol being found in his urine down to eating contaminated beef.
Among other bizarre excuses was Sheffield’s former IBF world featherweight champion Kid Galahad blaming his brother for spiking his drink after he refused to give him money.
Jarrell Miller pulled out of a clash with Anthony Joshua a few years ago blaming a stem-cell shot in his elbow as the cause of his drug downfall.
But when it comes to brass neck ingenuity the Oscar goes to Dennis Mitchell, 1992 Olympic gold-winning American sprinter, who was found to have extraordinarily high levels of testosterone in his bloodstream.
Mitchell said: “I had sex four times with my wife yesterday. It was her birthday — the lady deserved a treat.”
It didn’t wash with the unromantic athletic authorities — Dennis was banned for two years.