WBC Continues Making Mockery of Sanctioning Bodies; Suspends Cristobal Arreola

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 3, 2009 11:09 AM EST in News Comment 17 comments

Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook brings us the hilarious story of World Boxing Commission president Jose Sulaiman's motion that Cristobal Arreola be suspended for "cussing" following his loss to Vitali Klitschko:

This was put to a vote -- seriously.

It was agreed upon that Arreola would be suspended for six months -- seriously.

This all took place at the WBC's annual convention, this year being held in South Korea. Here is the video where Arreola displayed the pain and emotion of every fighter who devotes his life to being champion and falls short:

I'm firmly in agreement with the commenter at BLH that suggest that Arreola not pay a sanctioning fee to the WBC for the rest of his career. He is a talented American who very well may represent the future of the sport at heavyweight. For the WBC to "take a stand" on this issue is just incredibly weak.

Oh, and for those of you wondering what power a sanctioning body has to suspend a fighter? None. They're not an athletic commission and as such Scott Christ says:

Anyway, despite the WBC's finger-wagging, expect Arreola to go ahead and fight anyway on December 5 in Atlantic City, live on HBO.

Fight the power Cristobal!

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I know, I know…this is an MMA site and I’m talking about boxing so a handful of you will cry about this post’s existence. But…I’mma do what I do and, as my grandma used to say, if you don’t like it you’re just S.O.L.

Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 3, 2009 11:14 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I had a really great burrito yesterday.

I know that doesn’t have anything to do with MMA either, but I felt like sharing, so there you go.

by Vlad on Nov 3, 2009 11:18 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome to BE LiveJournal.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Nov 3, 2009 5:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If there is a complaint

to be made it might be that these types of article reinforce the “boxing vs. MMA” mentality, particularly since the majority of these articles are negative toward boxing. Like enjoying some schadenfreude at the latest failure of your older brother.

by rzor on Nov 3, 2009 11:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I disagree

I don’t think Brent is at all trying to be negative about boxing per se. The article is about the evil of profit-seeking sanctioning bodies such as the WBC (and WAMMA : ) )

by rainmaker6 on Nov 3, 2009 11:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps it's just my interpretation

but usually I read these articles in the vein of showcasing how badly boxing gets in wrong. Some of us were die-hard boxing fans at one point, and these posts reinforce why we might have turned our backs on that sport and become followers of MMA. This, of course, is a theme Dana White often harps on while also claiming to be a boxing fan. It seems the ratio of positive vs. negative boxing stories is skewed on BE, not that I’m asking for more boxing posts; however, I would be surprised to read a Pat Barry-like story on BE.

by rzor on Nov 3, 2009 11:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just to give some background…

1) I am STILL a diehard boxing fan. I LOVE the sport.
2) I got my start with SBNation writing for Bad Left Hook. In fact, my screen name on several systems is BadLeftHook as I was running boxing blogs with that name on blogspot prior to any other blog and SBN looked at the site, registered the name and brought Scott and I on board.
3) Scott and I are extremely good friends, I was best man at his wedding a few months back as a matter of fact.

I just think this story speaks so much to the sanctioning bodies being a waste of time 99% of the time. Are they trying to figure out how to determine clear divisional champions at their convention? No…they’re going after a boxer for being emotional following what was probably the biggest disappointment in his career.

I love boxing and boxers. I hate sanctioning bodies.

Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com

by Brent Brookhouse on Nov 3, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This stories sound like warnings

MMA is obviously still developing, but we need to be aware of the issues that could crop up and why we should support/oppose them. These sanctioning bodies sound like a good idea in theory, but stories like this expose their shortcomings in praxis. It’s valuable to know and understand the realities of another similar sport, whether it be boxing, kickboxing, TKD, golf, or tennis, in order to keep ours from repeating the same mistakes.

by pdl on Nov 3, 2009 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

this is an interesting point though

I always wonder when guys drop F-bombs during Ultimate Fight Nights on Spike. This could theoretically result in FCC sanctions. Does Dana fine fighters or otherwise scold them for cussing?

█♣█
A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who -- Jay-Z

by thetakeover on Nov 3, 2009 11:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Cable

You can say whatever you want on cable.

Could be an issue if they ever get a big-4 deal, I guess. Or for an international broadcast to somewhere really tightassed.

by Vlad on Nov 3, 2009 11:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I remember in one of his vlogs before a Fight Night where he told the fighters not to curse during the post-fight interview.

by superap on Nov 3, 2009 11:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

HBO execs must’ve been pissed to hear the F word used on their channel. After all the work they’ve done to create such a clean lineup of television programming.

by casey manrique on Nov 3, 2009 11:24 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

Dear WBC:

Go fuck yourselves.

Regards, everyone.

Keep firing Assholes!

I am the King of Rome, and am above grammar. -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor

by Ubernoober on Nov 3, 2009 11:27 AM EST reply actions 7 recs

Dear WBC

do yourself one better

go kill yourself

by bearcox13 on Nov 3, 2009 11:32 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

One would assume that the WBC bigwigs would have something better to do than to make-believe punish a man who let his emotions get the better of him after having his dreams crushed. More power to Arreola for already looking into coming back after getting beaten.

by lhasafi on Nov 3, 2009 11:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I’m with the WBC on this one guys. I mean saying the F word is going to do much more damage than watching the guy get his brain beat in for 10 rounds.

by Phildo on Nov 3, 2009 12:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs