Floyd Mayweather's Vacant WBC Belts to Be Filled by Tournament Competitions

The WBC has confirmed its welterweight and super welterweight boxing titles recently vacated by Floyd Mayweather will be at stake in a tournament to determine who the new champions will be.

After beating Andre Berto earlier this year, Mayweather, who held both of the belts, decided to retire from the sport. Much speculation has raged about which boxers will get the opportunity to challenge for the vacant straps, but speaking at the WBC’s 53rd convention, president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed the future intentions.

“We want the fans to see the eventual champion make his way through a series of fights on television so they will know who he is by the time he wins the belt,” said Sulaiman, per Bob Newman of FightNews.com.

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It's suggested in the piece the top 15 fighters in both the welterweight and super welterweight divisions will be petitioned about taking part in the contest. From there, a decision will be made on how many fighters will make up the respective tournaments.

According the FightNews.com, in the super welterweight division, the two top-ranked WBC fighters are Jermell Charlo and John Jackson.

The welterweight class looks a lot more exciting, though, with Amir Khan and Danny Garcia filling first and second, respectively, while the likes of Shawn Porter, Roberto Guerrero and Brandon Rios also feature high up in the rankings.

Boxing writer Stephen Edwards thinks this kind of format will reveal who the true fighters are in these classes at the moment:

It’ll be intriguing to see whether or not Khan puts his name forward, with his future currently a cause for confusion. 

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A report from Jeff Powell in the Daily Mail claimed the British fighter had agreed to fight Manny Pacquiao on April 9, but that story was vehemently denied by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com. However, Arum did reveal to Rafael that Khan was an option for the Filipino, along with Terence Crawford, meaning he could well be booked up in the short term.

The tournament format would certainly help casual boxing fans become more aware of upcoming fighters in the divisions and give the eventual champion massive gravitas.

It’d be a refreshing change to see this kind of setup in place for a major title too, allowing those fighters who may not usually be in with a shot to get a brilliant opportunity of competing for big prizes. It's these kind of chances that can occasionally transform also-rans into stars.