Floyd Mayweather Officially Stripped of WBO 147-Pound Welterweight Title
Floyd Mayweather Jr. may still be undefeated following his victory over Manny Pacquiao back in May, but the 38-year-old can no longer call himself the WBO welterweight champion. ย ย ย
ESPN.com's Dan Rafael reported the championship committee voted to strip Mayweather of the title Monday.
Rafaelย provided some backgroundย on why theย WBOย did so. According to the report, Mayweather failed to properly vacate the titles himself and also never paid the $200,000 sanctioning fee to theย WBOย for the Pacquiao bout:
"It is against sanctioning organization rules for boxers to hold world titles in multiple weight classes. Theย WBCย andย WBAย have been breaking their own rules by allowing Mayweather to hold their titles, but theย WBOย has declined to break its rules for Mayweather and it has told him he must make a decision. Also, Mayweather, who originally did not plan to accept theย WBOย title involved in the May 2 bout with Pacquiao, had a change of heart. Yet, he has not yet paid the sanctioning fee, according to theย WBO.
So with the deadline missed, theย WBOย on Friday referred Mayweather's situation to its championship committee.
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Mayweather said after beating Pacquiao that he'd willingly relinquish some of the championships he fought so hard to win, per ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto:
"I don't know if it will be Monday or maybe a couple weeks. I'll talk to my team and see what we need to do. Other fighters need a chance. Give other fighters a chance. I'm not greedy. I'm a world champion in two different weight classes. It's time to let other fighters fight for the belt.
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Since he failed to follow up on that decree, the WBO took action.
Ramon Aranda of 3MoreRounds.com looked at the likely succession plan:
Timothy Bradley is the natural replacement for Mayweather as the welterweight titleholder. He beat Jessie Vargas on June 27 to win the interim belt, and few welterweights can lay a claim to being better than Bradley.
Ideally, the new champion would be decided in the ring in a fight with Mayweather, but this wouldn't be the first time boxing failed to give fans what they wanted.
For Mayweather, this decision will do little to impact his legacy or star power. None of his accomplishments is more important than his unblemished record.
