By Kenneth Atisele
The World Boxing Organisation has stripped Floyd Mayweather of the Welterweight World Title he won in the fight against Manny Pacquiao just two months ago.
The boxing champ, who is currently trending on Twitter, was said to have failed to meet the last Friday deadline of paying the $200,000 sanctioning fee required by the WBO (World Boxing Organization) after he took the belt from Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas.
The match is tagged the richest fight of all time, earning a reported $220m in the process but while Mayweather might lavish millions on expensive whips and hang outs with strippers, he refuse to the 3% required to keep the title.
According to research, WBO rules require boxers to pay 3 percent of their purse to fight for a world title up to a maximum of $200,000. The rules also prohibit WBO champions to hold any belts in any other weight divisions. Mayweather is currently also the WBC and WBA champion at junior middleweight as well as at welterweight.
A statement on the Puerto Rico-based sanctioning body’s website confirmed that Mayweather, regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, is no longer the WBO champion.
‘Mr Mayweather, Jr failed to pay the $200,000 fee required of him as a participant of a WBO World Championship Contest,’ said the statement.
‘Despite affording Mr Mayweather Jr the courtesy of an extension to advise us of his position within the WBO Welterweight Division and to vacate the two 154-pound world titles he holds, the WBO World Championship Committee received no response from him or his legal representatives on this matter.
‘The WBO World Championship Committee is allowed no other alternative but to cease to recognise Mr Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as the WBO Welterweight Champion of the World and vacate his title.’
American Timothy Bradley, who defeated countryman Jessie Vargas for the WBO interim welterweight belt on June 27, is now expected to be formally elevated to full champion status by the WBO.
