Along with a guaranteed multimillion-dollar prize purse that comes with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally agreeing to fight each other on May 2, the winner will also get a shiny new belt, according to World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman.
“For this special recognition I would like to have emeralds or platinum, but everything will be defined during the next weeks,” Sulaiman said via (WBC’s official Web site on Wednesday). “This is because of the magnitude of the event, which will be broadcast via TV networks globally.”
The WBC is one of four major boxing organizations that offer sanctioned championship belts. The others are the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Organization. Along with the redesigned WBC belt, the current iteration of which belongs to Mayweather, the fighters are putting their other welterweight titles on the line. Currently, Pacquiao holds the WBO belt, while Mayweather has the current WBC and WBA titles.
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But as SB Nation’s “Bad Left Hook” points out, it’s not any single belt (of which there are currently 111 divided over 17 weight classes) that most boxers really want — it’s the crown.
“Boxing’s crowns are figurative rather than literal, and yet their weight is much more than 10 pounds of leather and brass ever could be,” the boxing blog states. “The crowns belong to the lineal champs, those men who proved themselves the absolute best in their divisions, either by beating the last man to hold that claim, or by succeeding in a bout between the division’s consensus numbers one and two. The wearers of the crowns — there are eight currently in the sport — are the closest things boxing has left to true champions, though there are those who scoff at the idea of such a thing.”
Pacquiao winning would make special history, as he would become the first boxer ever to hold five crowns. In the past, he’s captured the flyweight, featherweight, junior lightweight, and junior welterweight crowns. The welterweight crown, which Mayweather has already worn, would be his fifth if he were to win.
So, does this mean Pacquiao will fight harder than Mayweather? That’s doubtful. Belts made of “10 pounds of leather and brass” are one thing, but one made of platinum and emeralds is another and Mayweather, whose nickname is “Money,” has proven he truly appreciates the shinier things in life.
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