Former Fiji boxing champion Sebastian Singh has publicly disagreed with the Boxing Commission of Fiji\u2019s (BCF) recent decision to strip local champions of their titles for not defending them within the mandated timeframe.<\/p>\n
In a video response, Singh challenged the commission\u2019s demand that boxers return their belts if they have not defended their titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen there is a title fight in Fiji, there is a fee paid. They\u2019re basically paying for the titles. And when the title is paid for, if a boxer chooses not to defend it and keep it as memorabilia, as a token of his hard work and dedication\u2026 I think that\u2019s more than fair,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n
He also criticised the financial reality faced by champions tasked with arranging their own title defenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a boxer calls a promoter and gets offered $2000 or $3000 to defend his title, I don\u2019t think that actually makes sense. As a champion, you should be paid accordingly. It\u2019s not easy becoming a champion in boxing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He questioned the origin and fairness of the commission\u2019s new rules comparing them to standard boxing regulations adopted around the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know where these rules and regulations come from because everywhere in the world, I\u2019ve had presidents and vice-presidents of big boxing bodies message me and say nowhere in the world this happens,\u201d Singh claimed.<\/p>\n
BCF chairman Adi Narayan defended the decision to strip titles from champions who have not defended them, including former super-middleweight champion Siliveni Nawai and bantamweight champion Shamal Ram Anuj.<\/p>\n
\u201cA champion can hold onto a title after defending it three times, that\u2019s when you can keep the title. Here, this man did not follow that and is refusing to give us the title back. So, we\u2019ve decided to strip him and suspend him,\u201d Narayan explained.<\/p>\n
Narayan also stressed the responsibility of champions to actively engage promoters in arranging title defenses.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the current reigning champions, it is my request to you all: please, you know who you are, contact any of the promoters, sign up, because the boxing commission will act now. We must get these titles current,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Singh concluded his remarks by reminding the commission of the true challenges of boxing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoxing is not an easy sport. You have stated before that you boxed, but in the world where it actually matters, where you step in the ring and get punched in the head, you have no recognition,\u201d said the former champion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Fiji boxing champion Sebastian Singh has publicly disagreed with the Boxing Commission of Fiji\u2019s (BCF) recent decision…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-454963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}