WBC to reinstate Haney as lightweight champion

Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images

Haney had been named champion in recess while recovering from surgery

Even with the sport as a whole on ice, the profoundly stupid saga of the WBC lightweight title.

Last year, the sanctioning body granted Vasiliy Lomachenko’s request to fight Luke Campbell for the vacant belt Mikey Garcia left behind. Once he’d taken a comfortable decision over the former Olympic gold medalist, the WBC elevated Lomachenko to “franchise” champion and gave interim champion Haney his former title, ordering Haney to face mandatory challenger Javier Fortuna.

Then Haney got injured, so the WBC made him “champion-in-recess” and ordered Fortuna to take on Luke Campbell for the regular title with the caveat that whoever wins face Haney upon the latter’s return. Now, with the coronavirus grinding boxing to a halt, Mauricio Sulaiman tells Luckypunch that Haney will be reinstated.

This will undoubtedly infuriate Campbell, who recently sat down with Seconds Out to claim that his match with Fortuna “will be rescheduled, and there’s nothing that [Haney] can do about it.” It was expected to take place a week from Saturday on the Regis Prograis-Maurice Hooker card in Oxon Hill before everything happened.

I’ve mentioned before that I find that WBC more odious than the WBA, as it paints a facade of respectability while practicing the same sort of nonsense, and here’s a prime example.