The World Boxing Organisation has officially stripped Floyd Mayweather of the welterweight world title he won by beating Manny Pacquiao two months ago during the “fight of the century’’.
Mayweather had failed to meet the deadline last Friday for paying the $US200,000 sanctioning fee required by the WBO after he clinched the belt from Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas in the richest fight of all time. The boxer earned a reported $US220 million in the fight.
Mayweather also has not relinquished his junior middleweight titles according to the rules of the organization. The WBO rules state that a boxer can only hold belts in one weight class, and they had given Mayweather time to make the decision on which weight to stick with. Mayweather is currently also the WBC and WBA champion at junior middleweight, as well as welterweight.
“The WBO World Championship Committee is allowed no other alternative but to cease to recognize Mr. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as the WBO Welterweight Champion of the World and vacate his title, for failing to comply with our WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests,” the Puerto Rico-based organization said in a statement released on Monday.
“The WBO has the utmost respect for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and all that he has accomplished during his storied career. Mr. Mayweather has always agreed with and understood that world championships have both privileges and responsibilities and that status as WBO champion is subject to and conditioned on compliance with the WBO rules and regulations.”
Mayweather has won 11 world titles in five weight classes, from 130 to 154 pounds, in his exceptional 19-year career. He plans to next fight Sept. 12 to complete his six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS. After that, the 38-year-old has said, he plans to retire. His opponent hasn’t been announced yet.
Back in May, immediately after the Pacquiao fight, Mayweather had said that he would relinquish his belts: “Other fighters need to get a chance. I’m not greedy. I’m a world champion at two different weight classes right now … It’s time to let other fighters fight for the belts.”
