Boxing
Ryan Garcia has a clear path to his first defense of the WBC welterweight title
Published
3 months agoon
Ryan Garcia’s victory over Mario Barrios on Saturday not only secured him the WBC welterweight title. This placed the novel champion in a part of the structure where his first defense is not yet dictated by law enforcement.
The WBC landscape leaves room for flexibility
There is no interim champion, and no final eliminator determined a mandatory challenger. Latest WBC welterweight rankings were updated on February 3, before Garcia’s victory, meaning the governing body did not formally reshape the division around a novel title holder.
Silver champion Souleymane Cissokho has recognized status. Raul Curiel holds the NABF position.
BrianNorman Jr. and Eimantas Stanionis remain among the top contenders. However, none of them currently have enforceable compulsory rights or portfolio bargaining leverage.
With no eliminator ordered or contractual obligations attached to the belt, the WBC is under no immediate pressure to force Garcia to defend against a regular challenger.
Without an eliminator, Garcia has room for a voluntary defense that really matters.
A importance that will likely lead the first defense
Garcia publicly challenged Shakur Stevenson immediately after defeating Barrios. Under the current structure, a fight of this scale would be within the champion’s voluntary window and would not conflict with WBC protocol.
This reality makes Garcia’s explanation of Stevenson less theoretical and more structurally possible.
The same framework applies to other high-profile options. Reuniting with WBO and IBF 147-pounder Devin Haney would signify the importance of the division.
A commercially significant event involving Gervonta Davis would also fall within the scope of the voluntary defense, provided the business and catchweight sides align.
When no eliminator decided the issue, the WBC has traditionally allowed marquee fights to go ahead.
In Garcia’s case, the lack of an eliminator means the organization retains discretion to set a deadline rather than being forced to make a decision.
The players have a clearer path
For others looking for a position, the route is more direct.
If Conor Benn intends to enter the WBC title conversation, strengthening his position against an established challenger such as Cissokho or another top-15 opponent would be more structurally critical than waiting for discretionary approval.
Until an eliminator is ordered and a mandatory challenger is formally installed, Garcia’s first defense of the WBC welterweight title will be shaped more by importance than obligation.
Garcia has direct choice, but the governing body decides when that flexibility tightens.
The flexibility is available for now and will only last until the WBC orders an eliminator and installs a formal mandatory challenger.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
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World champion will be stripped of his title if he refuses to fight David Benavidez next: ‘That’s it’
Published
1 hour agoon
June 4, 2026
David Benavidez won the WBA and WBO cruiserweight world titles with his last fight, and the “Mexican Monster” may add to his collection in the future after one of the world champions was ordered to fight him under the threat of being stripped of his belt.
Last month I moved up from light heavyweight and dethroned Gilberto Ramirez in sensational styleBenavidez now holds the WBA (regular) and WBC featherlight heavyweight world titles, as well as his recently won unified cruiserweight crown.
As a result, the 29-year-old must decide whether he should return to the featherlight heavyweight scene or stay in the cruiserweight division, where he put in arguably the best performance of his career last time out after tuning out his fight with Jai Opetaia.
However, Benavidez was also named the WBC cruiserweight mandatory challenger and was ordered to fight WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian, another who has been linked to a fight with Opetaia.
If Mikaelian refuses to defend the title against Benavidez, the WBC president announced in an interview for the WBC magazine that he would strip the Armenian of the belt. Boxing Scene.
“The WBC order is Mikaelian against Benavidez. That’s all. If he fights again, he will waive his obligations to the WBC.”
“[There is no deadline] at this time. I will be talking to different managers. This is the highest priority. I look forward to making sure that happens.”
If Mikaeilian decides to continue the fight with Opetaia and thus lose the world title, it can be expected that Polish-born interim champion Michał Cieślak will benefit. Either he will be elevated to full world champion and ordered to make his first defense against Benavidez, or he will be included in a vacant belt fight against the three-division world champion.
Boxing
Peter Fury claims Tyson used the wrong tactics against Usyk
Published
3 hours agoon
June 4, 2026
“Well, he has his team there and I’m not criticizing anyone, but in both fights his tactics weren’t good,” Peter said in an interview with Sport Boxing.
“It worked out badly because look, if we have a little guy here who can throw, let’s say, a welterweight who can throw a thousand punches, and we have a heavyweight, will a heavyweight fighter throw a thousand punches with him? No.”
“Or maybe he’ll step in and take one good shot? Absolutely.”
“So basically yes, the strategy was just wrong. It doesn’t mean Usyk was better than him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t say anything. You misunderstand the tactics and they are wrong.
“And you know, when you look at Usyk’s structure and what he does, when he distances himself and tries to box an elite boxer who is lighter than you and who is giving away pounds, he will ping you all over the shop. That should be noticed,” Peter Fury said.
Tyson Fury announced his return earlier this year and is expected to have a preparatory fight before the start of his scheduled series with Anthony Joshua. Queensbury promoter Frank Warren recently confirmed that Fury’s next opponent could be announced in the coming days, with the long-awaited fight against Joshua expected to take place later this year.
Usyk remains at the top of the heavyweight division and has been ordered to fight WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel. Warren also confirmed that negotiations for the fight are ongoing.
Fury’s third meeting with Usyk has not been announced. Peter Fury, however, remains convinced that the strategy used in the first two fights determined the result.
Boxing
The politician’s perfect 12-0 KO record remains the strangest in boxing
Published
5 hours agoon
June 4, 2026
Jorge Kahwagi achieved something almost impossible in professional boxing. The Mexican politician retired with a perfect record of 12-0, knocked out every opponent he faced, and finished his entire career in just 15 rounds.
On paper, this looks like one of the most devastating runs the sport has ever seen. In fact, many boxing fans wondered if they even believed it.
Perfect record
Kahwagi turned professional in 2001, despite having no boxing experience. Over the next fourteen years, he set an undefeated record, won regional titles, and never once heard the final bell.
Twelve fights brought twelve victories. All twelve victories were by knockout in just fifteen rounds.
The numbers are tough to understand even now.
Several of Kahwagi’s opponents entered the ring in defeat. Others seemed hopelessly outmatched.
But the record continued to grow as the politician and businessman rose through the cruiserweight ranks without ever being seriously tested.
By the time he retired in 2015 after returning from a ten-year hiatus for one final fight, Kahwagi owned one of boxing’s most remarkable undefeated records.
Why fans never bought it
The controversy surrounding Kahwaga was not in itself. This is how some of these victories turned out.
His last fight against Ramon Olivas remains the fight most frequently mentioned in discussions about Kahwagi’s career. The break came after seemingly minimal contact, prompting criticism from fans and observers.
Doubts have already surrounded previous victories, including the victory over veteran Roberto Coelho.
Whether these doubts were justified or not, the damage was done and many fans never accepted Kahwagi’s record at face value.
Boxing has seen this before
Kahwagi’s record may be extraordinary, but in boxing there is always controversy when it comes to results.
As WBN reports, while John Riel Casimero faces a fight-fixing investigation in 2025, debates continue to arise in the contemporary era about what happens inside the ropes.
Long before that, Roy Jones Jr. denied winning Olympic gold in Seoul despite dominating Park Si-hun in what many still consider the greatest heist in boxing history.
More than thirty years later, Park returned the medal to Jones.
The Kahwagi case falls into a different category, but the result is often the same. Once fans stop believing what they’re watching, the debate never really stops.
Still one of the strangest
Few fighters retire with a perfect record, and even fewer retire after every knockout victory.
Kahwagi handled both, finishing his entire professional career in just 15 innings, and those numbers remain remarkable.
More than a decade after his retirement, the debate surrounding his record has never really died down.
That’s why Jorge Kahwagi’s perfect 12-0 record remains one of the strangest in boxing history.
About the author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
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