The World Boxing Federation (WBF) is an organization which sanctions
professional boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
bouts. It was created in 1988.
Information
The World Boxing Federation was originally established in 1988 by Larry Carrier, who was part owner of
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Bristol International Raceway from 1978 to 1996 and as the Bristol International Speedway from 1961 to 1978) is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Bristol, Tennessee. The track ha ...
in northeastern Tennessee.
[''Irish Boxing Review, 2012 Edition'', publisher: ''Lulu.com'', published: 2012] It was an expanded version of the American Pro Boxing Association.
The original concept for the WBF was written on the back of a napkin as an alternative for boxing as Carrier felt there was a lack of vision in boxing.
The WBF wanted to give overlooked fighters a chance and wanted to be a more affordable sanctioning body for aspiring promoters by only charging a $5,000 sanctioning fee.
The WBF also sought to promote itself in an honest manner and help the sport.
The promotion signed their first title fight in November 1990, when they organized a cruiserweight bout between Rickey Patkey and Joe Louis for December 7, 1990.
The WBF's titles were not initially recognized by the
British Boxing Board of Control
The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom.
History
The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...
and had to wait until 1995 to achieve recognition.
[''A Social History of Sheffield Boxing, Volume II'', publisher: ''Springer International Publishing'', url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Social_History_of_Sheffield_Boxing_Vol/9h8SEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22wbf%22, published: 2021] The company had 17 field offices outside of the US by 1995
and the company moved its headquarters to Las Vegas prior to 1998.
Larry Carrier sold the WBF to Ron Scalf in June 1998.
The organization closed in 2004 after losing a lawsuit
and was revived in 2009.
In 2022, the promotion announced that they would no longer sanction title fights with boxers with negative records in an effort to raise standards.
The organization has sanctioned matches on 6 of the 7 continents.
The organization has three levels of champions including World champions, Intercontinental champions and International champions. The organization also sanctions women's boxing matches.
The promotion also monitors its judges closely and feels integrity is its greatest asset.
The promotion also had their own magazine called, "Inside Boxing with the WBF".
Current WBF World Champions
As of (men):
Notable Past WBF champions
*
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...
, former Heavyweight champion
*
Francois Botha, former Heavyweight champion
*
Jimmy Thunder, former Heavyweight champion
*
Johnny Nelson, former Heavyweight champion
*
Adílson Rodrigues, former Heavyweight champion
*
Bert Cooper, former Heavyweight champion
*
Mike Bernardo, former Heavyweight champion
*
Roy Jones Jr., former Light Heavyweight champion
*
Robin Reid, former Super Middleweight champion
*
Carl Daniels, former Middlweight champion
*
Juan Lazcano, former Lightweight champion
*
Dimitry Salita, former Super Light champion
*
Samson Dutch Boy Gym, former Junior Bantamweight champion
*
Jesús Chong, former Junior Flyweight champion
See also
*
List of boxing organisations P
List of boxing organisations in chronological order by the year of their establishment. The four major sanctioning bodies are in bold. All List
Global (Worldwide)
Continental
* WBA Asia - 2014
* WBA Oceania
* Federación Latinoamericana de C ...
References
External links
*
{{World boxing champions
International organisations based in Luxembourg City
Professional boxing governing bodies
International sports organizations
Sports organizations established in 1988