THE world heavyweight championship used to be the most coveted prize in all of sport. Not just boxing but sport as a whole.

In the days of yore, world boxing champions were recognised as the very best in their respective divisions. But that was then. Currently, there are an astonishing 97 ‘world’ boxing champions (including ‘Regular’ and ‘Interim’ champions) in 17 different weight divisions.

The four governing bodies - the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) - have come under fire from fans in recent times for it’s cynical world champion structure.

Instead of merely having one world champion per governing body, we are now seeing ‘Super’, ‘Interim’ and ‘Regular’ titles classed as genuine world titles.

Changed times indeed.

Those who wear such belts with pride are now unfortunately but often rightly dubbed ‘paper champions’ and despite their best efforts to do the opposite, are damaging boxing’s credibility.

A man who has suffered from this label is current WBA super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg. The British star has faced repeated scorn from fight fans from fighting lesser opposition and simply being promoted from WBA (Regular) champion to full WBA champion.

His bitter rival Carl Frampton however, ripped the IBF crown from Spaniard Kiko Martinez and in doing so became a ‘real’ world champion in the eyes of many fans.

So how can we truly distinguish boxing’s ‘real’ world champions? Many experts have called for a complete overhaul where there is only one world champion in each division not per governing body.

It sounds respectable in theory but in reality it simply won’t happen.​ But that idea hasn’t stopped elusive American promoter Al Haymon from trying it. Under his new Premier Boxing Champions banner with NBC, world champion fighters are not recognised for having belts and will instead fight for the channel’s own championships, much to the bemusement of viewers.

The WBA in particular has come under fire from fans and insiders alike - and rightly so. For every world title fight contested, a governing body picks up a sanctioning fee.

And not content with having just one per division, the WBA have milked it for all it’s worth with ‘Interim’, ‘Super’, ‘Regular’, ‘Unified’, ‘Undisputed’, title fights for a tasty sum.

All to the detriment of the sport it’s meant to serve.

The governing bodies influence has never been so prevalent in British boxing than it is now. Some of our finest young talents currently walk around wearing a WBO European, a WBA Intercontinental, a WBC Silver or an IBF Inter-Euro-Super-Duper-Pan-Global-Universal (it could happen!) strap like it’s a legitimate belt.

The influence of the governing bodies has never been more prevalent in British boxing than it is today.

Last year, Liverpool lightweight Tom Stalker rejected the chance to fight Welshman Chris Jenkins in a British title eliminator.

Instead, Stalker opted to face fellow British rival Jack Catterall for the aforementioned WBO European bauble. It was a decision he may live to regret after being knocked out in the eighth round of their fight last October.

The decision to fight for such a pitiful belt in favour of potentially fighting for the coveted Lonsdale belt left a sour taste all round.

With Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao set to determine who is the best in the world when they collide in May, let’s hope that inspires more fighters to ditch their ‘paper’ straps in favour of facing their closest rivals.

by Ciaran Shanks