WBC ratings reveal Chavez Jr. #1 at 168, Broner stripped at 135

WBC ratings reveal Chavez Jr. #1 at 168, Broner stripped at 135

Despite one controversy covered career win at 168 pounds for son of a legend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., he is now ranked number one at the weight by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

The decision is par for the course for the WBC and Chavez Jr., who have what you could only call a cozy relationship with one another. Chavez Jr. was allowed to avoid the challenge of Sergio Martinez almost two years past when it initially should have been ordered. Though the two ended up making much more money off the fight when it finally took place in September 2012, it only happened that way because Chavez Jr. is a preferred fighter of the sanctioning body. Chavez Jr.’s one win at 168 pounds didn’t even happen at 168 pounds, as he got a questionable decision against Bryan Vera in September after failing to make the 168 pound weight. The two rematch on Mar. 1 in San Antonio on HBO.

In other news, a different self-absorbed fighter was actually stripped of their WBC title belt. Adrien Broner had won the WBC lightweight title over Antonio DeMarco in November 2012. After one defense against Gavin Rees last February, Broner decided to jump two weight divisions and beat Paul Malignaggi in a lackluster fight for Malignaggi’s WBC welterweight title. Broner lost that belt to Marcos Maidana in December, and the WBC has now left him with zero titles after stripping him at 135.

With the change, Omar Figueroa is promoted to full champion at 135 pounds. Figueroa defends that title against Ricardo Alvarez, yet another fighter who is getting an opportunity more on name value than in-ring credentials, as he’s the older brother to Canelo Alvarez. The Figueroa-Alvarez bout will be on the Mar. 8 Showtime pay-per-view undercard of Canelo against Alfredo Angulo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.