Former middleweight king Marvin Hagler lamented the proliferation of world titles in the modern era as he called for one champion per division. The landscape is now splintered because of the four major sanctioning bodies – WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO – which means there can often be more than fighter boasting of supremacy in their weight class. Marvin Hagler, right, captured the world middleweight title by defeating Alan Minter in 1980 (PA)“Now you’ve got the WBA, the WBC, the IBF (and the WBO) – they say it’s like the alphabet boys. He seems to be getting better all the time.”– The Laureus World Sports Awards celebrate the most remarkable men and women from the world of sport along with their achievements from the previous calendar year. The Awards also showcase the work of Laureus Sport for Good, a charity which uses the power of sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage.

Source: Irish Examiner February 20, 2019 09:56 UTC