Abner Mares vs. Eric Morel: WBC Destroys Credibility with This Title Fight

The WBC didn't even take the time to make it look like they were concerned about their credibility when they decided Abner Mares and Eric Morel would battle for the title at 122 pounds. 

They ignored their own protocol while passing over viable contenders to arrange this title fight. The fight should be a compelling enough match, which makes this head-scratching move tolerable, but the fact that they so brazenly disregarded their own rules is the latest disturbing sign for the WBC. 

They had to pick someone to fight for this title. It had been held by Toshiaki Nishioka since 2009.

Nichioka made a long personal absence from the sport, and he was not able to make a mandatory title defense. As a result, he was stripped of his title. 

This meant it was on the WBC to find someone to fight for the title. As ESPN's boxing analyst Dan Rafael tells us: 

"

With the title vacant, the normal protocol is for the organization to go down its rankings and match the two leading available contenders for the belt.

"

Perhaps Rafael should have sent this reminder to the WBC because, not only were these two not the top ranked 122-pound fighters, neither of them were ranked at all at 122 pounds at the time this fight was sanctioned.

There certainly were plenty of fighters who were—deserving fighters.

Simpiwe Vetyeka and Victor Terrazas were ranked No. 1 and 2 last month. This is where the plans for this fight should have begun. It would have been a solid fight, and it would have shown that the WBC had some respect for its own policy. 

Instead, they decided to move these two fighters down the rankings. In April, Vetyeka was second and Terrazas was fourth, and neither fighter had stepped into the ring. 

There was no reason to move them down the rankings other than to help justify their sham of a title bout. 

The WBC failed. This hollow move did not help justify their title fight. It only showed that the ranking was a farce that will be manipulated at the convenience of the governing body.