Predicting How a Welterweight Tournament for the WBC Belt Would Have Played Out

When Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired, the World Boxing Council (WBC) came up with an interesting idea to work out who would claim the vacant titles.

Rather than just have one-off fights to decide who would take ownership of the welter and super welterweight belts relinquished by Money (though he remains the WBC's Emeritus Champion), the organisation intended to hold tournaments to find its new champions.

President Mauricio Sulaiman said at the WBC's 53rd annual convention in China, via Bob Newman of FightNews.com, "We want the fans to see the eventual champion make his way through a series of fights on television so they will know who he is by the time he wins the belt."

Details of how the tournament would have worked were sketchy—it seemed no one knew quite how many fighters would compete or how long the whole thing would last.

However, boxing journalist Dan Rafael of ESPN confirmed on Jan. 13 that there would not be a WBC tournament after all. Not at 147 or 154 pounds.

Danny Garcia and Robert Guerrero will instead meet on Jan. 23 to decide who will be crowned the WBC's new welterweight champion. Amir Khan has already been announced as the mandatory challenger, too.

What a shame.

Yes, the Super Six World Boxing Classic, a six-man event (just in case the clue wasn't in the title) involving super middleweights that ran between 2009 and 2011, had plenty of issues. It ended up with eight boxers being involved due to withdrawals, and only two completed their scheduled three bouts in the group stage.

But, the WBC could have learned the lessons from history and mapped out a better format. It could have worked.

What if the WBC had just set up an eight-man knockout tournament? With a seeded draw (No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7 and so on) setting a route to the final, all competitors would need to win three fights to lift the title. That could work, right?

What if someone looked at the possible bouts using the WBC's current rankings and predicted an eventual champion by forecasting all the results? That would be worth reading/disagreeing with, right?

Well, you're in luck. Ladies and gentlemen, here is the WBC Welterweight World Title Tournament! Okay, the name made need some work, and it doesn't actually exist. But you get the idea.

Just to be clear, the top eight fighters listed by the WBC were automatically selected. All bouts would be scheduled for 12 rounds, with the aim to conclude the event by the start of the summer in 2017.

With no special invitations into the draw, Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) ends up facing Konstantin Ponomarev, rather than the ninth-ranked Errol Spence Jr.

That is a fortunate break for Khan, as no top seed wants to face a live underdog in the opening round of a tournament. Spence Jr. would certainly have been a test, considering he is unbeaten in 19 pro fights.

However, Ponomarev also boasts a perfect record. He has quickly moved to 29-0 (13 KOs) in the paid ranks, despite only being 23 years of age.

He has both youth and height on his side (Ponomarev is 5′10″, while Khan, who is 29, stands at 5′8.5″), but there's not a lot else to suggest that the man from Miass, Russia, could cause an upset.

Everyone loves a Cinderella story in sport. Sadly, this would not be one.

Khan would be too much for Ponomarev, whose career knockout ratio of 45 per cent suggests he does not carry the required power to stop his opponent from Bolton, England.

Predicted result: Khan wins by late stoppage

Danny Garcia, the second seed, would come up against the seventh-ranked Omar Figueroa Jr., a Texan who just loves to throw leather.

Talk about a tough draw for Garcia.

Swift would have hoped for a softer start to his challenge, even if he is 31-0 (18 KOs) as a professional.

Bleacher Report's very own Kelsey McCarson made the case for Figueroa Jr. (26-0-1, 18 KOs) as a future star for Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions venture, provided he lives up to his obvious potential.

As shown by his last three fights against Daniel Estrada, Ricky Burns and Antonio DeMarco, Panterita doesn't back down from a scrap.

However, what counts against him in this fictional fight is his recent past.

Figueroa Jr. has only just moved up from lightweight, and while it may now be easier on the scales, he is also coming up against bigger opponents.

Garcia has moved up to the 147-pound limit during his career as well, albeit only jumping from light welterweight, but his CV includes the more impressive scalps.

Predicted result: Garcia on points

A clash between the third and sixth seeds would see Shawn Porter take on Robert Guerrero.

The first point of order: Porter is, of course, already signed to face reigning WBA champion Keith Thurman on March 3. For the purpose of this made-up tournament, that bout either doesn't exist or resulted in a Thurman win. You can take your pick from those two options—it doesn't really matter either way.

Showtime (26-1-1, 16 KOs) used to hold the IBF title at welterweight until he ran into Englishman Kell Brook in 2014. That is the only loss on the American's record, and he was last seen beating Adrien Broner by unanimous decision on the scorecards.

Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs), meanwhile, is a former two-weight world champion who was once the holder of the WBC's interim belt at 147 pounds. The Ghost, however, has suffered defeats at the gloves of Mayweather Jr. and Thurman in his attempts to become a full champion at the weight limit.

His southpaw style could bother Porter early on, but the younger, fresher fighter would eventually work his way up close and take control.

Predicted result: Porter to win on points

Andre Berto—ranked at No.5—has been the WBC's welterweight champion before.

Berto (30-4, 23 KOs) claimed the vacant crown in 2008. He made five successful defences before losing the belt to Victor Ortiz on April 16, 2011.

Since then, however, the 32-year-old's career has stalled. You could argue that too much was expected of him, but Berto has now been beaten by Guerrero, Jesus Soto Karass and, most recently, Mayweather Jr.

His opponent in the tournament, Lamont Peterson, knows all about battling back from adversity.

His surprise win over Amir Khan in 2011 should have opened doors. Instead, a failed drug test revealed before a rematch with Khan meant that he lost a year of his career.

Peterson (34-3-1, 17 KOs) still maintains his innocence, via Andreas Hale of The Ring magazine:

I’ve passed all the steroid tests even though I so-called failed one. Normally when someone is really cheating and they get caught their fight game declines and they aren’t as good anymore because they can’t cheat like they used to. But I think in my case it clearly shows that whether you believe I cheated or not, which I know I didn’t, you have to admit that I haven’t declined at all.

Havoc dropped down to the super lightweight division to win the IBF title in 2014, then came back up to face Danny Garcia in a catchweight contest.

He lost to his fellow American, albeit on a majority decision, but would be confident of putting another nail in the coffin of Berto's boxing career.

Predicted result: Peterson to win on points

The first semi-final—which would see the top-seeded competitor taking on the lowest-ranked fighter left—has Khan and Peterson meeting in a rematch of their infamous 2011 fight.

Back then, Khan lost his IBF and WBA (although it was later reinstated to him) titles at super lightweight, as he was on the wrong end of a contentious split decision that was shrouded in controversy.

The Englishman's cause was not helped by two points being taken away by referee Joseph Cooper for pushing. Those deductions made all the difference, as two judges scored the bout 113-112 to Peterson.

That was not the only talking point to emerge from the scene.

Khan was disgruntled at a knockdown that did not count in Round 1, while his team raised concerns over the involvement of a mystery man (later revealed to be Mustafa Ameen, a guest of the International Boxing Federation) at ringside, as documented by the Telegraph.

A rematch was set for May 19, 2012, only for the bout to be cancelled when it was announced Peterson had failed a drug test.

Their paths have not crossed since—until this tournament.

A lot may have happened since their first meeting, but Khan would still be eager to avenge a defeat which he could rightly argue altered his career path.

Predicted result: Khan gets his revenge, winning comfortably on points

A semi-final clash between Garcia and Porter would be fun to watch.

There is only half-an-inch difference in height between the fighters (Garcia being slightly taller), and both are still in the prime of their careers (Porter is 28, while Garcia is 27).

While neither are particularly well-known for their knockout power, their styles could mesh nicely together.

Garcia stated he would be too good for Porter prior to his victory over Paulie Malignaggi on Aug. 1, 2015, according to Steve Kim of BoxingScene.

Porter, though, fancies his chances of ending Garcia's unbeaten record, if they ever do go toe-to-toe.

He told Mike Coppinger of USA Today (h/t Boxing Junkie), "His [Garcia's] feet aren’t good enough, and his defences aren’t good enough. He’s someone who’s right there to be hit and can get knocked out. Garcia said some things that rubbed me the wrong way, so it’s time to handle the business."

As yet, they haven't gone beyond verbally sparring with each other. However, a bit of needle between the pair only whets the appetite for what could happen in the ring.

Picking a winner was a seriously tough call.

Predicted result: Garcia on points (but it's close on the judges' cards)

The predicted final of the tournament would see Khan and Garcia—the two top-ranked fighters per the WBC's standings—face each other again.

Garcia has bragging rights over his rival, as he recorded a TKO victory in Round 4 in their first meeting on July 14, 2012.

Khan was actually the sharper of the two boxers for the opening six minutes, but everything changed when he was knocked down by a counter left hook towards the end of Round 3.

Only the bell saved him in that round, but he was dropped twice in the fourth. After the second occasion, referee Kenny Bayless waved the contest off, despite Khan insisting he was fit to carry on.

The bout, however, might never have happened had Khan not lost in contentious circumstances to Peterson. But in back-to-back bouts, the Bolton boxer had lost both his world titles. It was also the end of his fighter-trainer partnership with Freddie Roach.

A rematch between Garcia and Khan has been talked about, but as yet no deal has been struck.

Khan has not lost since, but Garcia told Declan Taylor for MailOnline that he holds a psychological advantage over the Englishman: "Don't get me wrong, Amir Khan is a good fighter and I take nothing away from him but it's just that when you fight somebody who knocked you out before, and you've been knocked out multiple times before, it's always in your mind that you could get knocked out again."

A long-overdue second meeting would be a fitting end to the eight-man event.

Predicted result: Despite the odd wobble, Khan wins on points to become the new WBC champion

Do you agree with the predictions? Or do you reckon there would be an upset in the earlier rounds?

You can have your say on the outcomes of any of the fights, as well as the general idea of the WBC holding a tournament to decide their world champions, by using the comments section.