The Good, And The Bad, Of Boxing's Alphabet Belts

Welcome to the second and final installment of our examination of the alphabet title belt phenomenon.

Last time, we took a magnifying glass to the question of whether the alphabet belts offered by the WBC, IBF et al should be ignored altogether. (My answer: Yes. Well, at least, after this post.) This time, we take the magnifying glass to what good those belts are, and whether the sport -- fans and boxers -- would be better off without them. We'll delve into the key arguments made by proponents of the alphabet gang: Do boxers make more money because of alphabet belts? Do good fights happen, and deserving fighters ascend, because of alphabet belts? And is there a place for alphabet belts even among their critics?

[It's a good thing I did this today, rather than yesterday. Last night I hung out with TQBR teammates Alex McClintock and Gautham Nagesh, as well as friends of the site David P. Greisman and nazarioz. We had a nice debate about all this. (Additionally, I got good grist from comments on the last installment from people like ThePJ and our Scott Kraus.)]

Source: http://queensberry-rules.com/2011-articles/august/the-good-and-the-bad-of-boxings-alphabet-belts.html

Mirko Cro Cop Dana White Oscar de la Hoya Matt Hughes