If you throw away the belt, you are saying that you are bigger than boxing. The belt is a symbol. It's part of boxing history, it's tradition. The fighter makes the belt. The fighter represents the belt.
Collectors buy belts.
Riddick Bowe threw his WBC in the trash can, but he kept the other two belts. Because if he threw all three belts in the garbage, he would have been just plain Riddick Bowe, not the Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe. It's a mistake to treat the belt like a human being. You cannot call the belt names and expect it to answer back. You wouldn't be talking to me right now if I didn't have a belt.