Mike Hercules Weaver Gets Mystery World Title Belt 21 Years Later
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
For boxing historians, there is nothing like a good mystery. When the mystery involves anything to do with the world heavyweight championship, inquiring minds want to know.
This picture shows trainer Freddie Roach presenting Mike Weaver with the International Boxing Authority World Heavyweight championship belt in the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles, on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, over 21 years after he won this ‘mystery’ title.
On June 6, 1994, Mike ‘Hercules’ Weaver defended the International Boxing Authority World Heavyweight championship with a second round knockout over LadislaoMijangos at 1:50 of the second round. The world title bout was held at Casino Magic in Bay Saint Louis, Missouri. If you look anywhere in the record books, the International Boxing Authority belt is nowhere to be found. On June 6, 1994, Weaver nonetheless defended it.
This occurred because the belt was created only so Weaver versus Mijangos could be billed as a world title fight. However, Weaver would not be the only world heavyweight champion to be declared champion by the belt being award. After Ken Norton won a 15 round split decision over Jimmy Young in Caesar’s Palace in las Vegas, Nevada, in an eliminator bout on November 5, 1977, Norton was subsequently awarded the World Boxing Council World Heavyweight title when Leon Spinks chose to defend his share of the title against Muhammad Ali in New Orleans after beating him at the Hilton in Las Vegas in February 1978. This split the WBA and WBC titles into separate champions on paper. Norton was the number one contender at the time of the WBC and the mandatory challenger.
The Mike Weaver to Leon Spinks connection? Leon Spinks lost a split decision to the common opponent, LadislaoMijangos, in San Antonio, Texas, in December 1987.
By the way, the International Boxing Authority, Mike Weaver’s one hit wonder of a belt, is not related to the International Boxing Association led by Dean Chance out of Wooster, Ohio. For short, they call themselves the IBA. I doubt if anybody besides the boxing historian such as this reporter, and Mike Weaver himself, know the true story of Mike Weaver’s International Boxing Authority belt. Weaver also held the WBA and NBA World Heavyweight titles and the USBA and WAA Americas Heavyweight titles. Weaver fought for the WBC World Heavyweight title, and fought for the NABF and California State Heavyweight titles. Weaver’s 24 hour title was, like the other belts, a very good promotion. Some belts remain in existence today. Other belts,like the WAA, faded into obscurity.
COMMENTS
English