Boxing Organizations: A Guide

What is the Difference Between WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO?

If you’ve ever tuned into a boxing match, outside of the spectacle of a televised fight, the discussion around belts and different champions has surely peaked your interest. Unlike most sporting competitions where fixed leagues, tournaments, or cups are at the center of a competition, associations in boxing, the four largest being the WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF, operate as individual organizations with very little overlap and cooperation. As you can imagine, this leads to an environment where the competition between the associations is just as fierce as the one taking place in the ring!

A fighter can only truly be the undisputed champion of the world once they’ve collected all four belts within their weight class. A task that’s made even more difficult thanks to behind-the-scenes politics between associations and promoters. Notwithstanding, the elite level of boxing talent held by fighters at the top of each organizations.

As I’m sure you’ve surmised, to become undisputed is a rank that few fighters have reached in the modern era. At the time of writing, only five fighters have managed to achieve the rank of undisputed champion.

Men: Cruiserweight Oleksander Usyk and Light Welterweight Terrence Crawford

Women: Lightweight Katie Taylor, Welterweight Cecilia Brækhus, and Middleweight Claressa Shields.

Another factor standing in the way of unification bouts is simple economics. The climb up the ladder to a championship is long and arduous. Most fighters will never hold championships belts and therefore are unlikely to land lucrative fight contracts. Moreover, without a belt, fighters are unable to land high-profile brand sponsorships and PPV deals further limiting their earning potential. Case in point, Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao. Ask any fight fan and they’ll tell you that this destined bout happened five years too late. If you’re to query the fighters and their promoters, a single mention of their reported paydays (Mayweather pulled in an astonishing $300 million) will immediately put things into perspective. It pays to be top dog, literally. If we’ve thrown you for a loop, not to worry. Read on for a comprehensive breakdown of each boxing association, a current overview of some of the best fighters, and a few interesting insights that should go a long way in your efforts to be a successful sports bettor.

WBA – World Boxing Association

The oldest of the “big 4”, the World Boxing Association, also known as the WBO, was founded in the United States in 1921. Interestingly, the association was originally known as the National Boxing Association, however, in 1962, the growing acclaim around the sport of boxing pushed the governing body to project an image of global authority. The mythic Jack Dempsey, a fighter the original Rocky franchise was modelled on, became the association’s first heavyweight champion after a thrilling knockout of French international Georges Carpentier.

WBC – World Boxing Council

A truly international organizations, the WBC was created by a conglomerate of representatives from 11 separate countries: USA, UK, France, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil. Established in 1963, the association is widely considered the most prestigious and famous of the “big 4” If you’re a fan of big name fights, then the WBC is the association for you. Famed for their ability to make the toughest of fights, the WBC is championships that prides itself on facilitating the highest level of competition. They’re even open to the invention from time to time, case in point, the one-off “money belt” to facilitate a legendary clash between Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor.

Outside of matchmaking, the WBC has also revolutionized the officiating of the sport, cutting down the number of rounds in a match from 15 to 12 while also introducing a standing eight count. Finally, their commitment to protecting the safety of fighter lead to the creation of additional weight classes to curtail excessive weight cutting techniques employed by fighters to remain competitive at lower divisions. All in all, the WBC is stellar organizations with a rich and illustrious history that should continue to lead the way in the sport for many years to come.

IBF – International Boxing Federation

The International Boxing Federation, more commonly known as the IBF, was created in 1983 in a bid to reshape the United States Boxing Association for a global market. Like the WBA, boxing had surpassed regionally boundaries and become a truly global sport.

WBO – World Boxing Organization

Initially, a splinter organizations from the WBA, the World Boxing Organization, or the WBO, was created by a group of Dominican and Puerto Rican businessmen frustrated with the rule changes being enacted by the WBA in 1988. Understanding the value of celebrity in boxing, the WBO built its name from some of the greatest fighters in the early 90s. The likes Joe Calzaghe, Oscar De La Hoya and Wladimir Klitschko all held belts within the organizations. While the WBO does utilize Super Championship belts in some insistence, unlike the WBA, the titles are mostly considered honorary championships for a select group of fighters who fulfill certain qualifications. Furthermore, because the titles hold no significant merit within the division, fighters aren’t at risk of losing their titles to opponents in a loss. Current fighters to be award WBO Super Championships include Anthony Joshua, Oleksandr Usyk and Manny Pacquiao.

What is The Ring Boxing Champion?

Now that we’ve covered the four leading boxing associations within the sport, let’s quickly go over the Ring Boxing Championship. A leading publication within the boxing world, The Ring magazine has long been associated with the sport, stretching back to 1922. From its inception until the late 1990s, The Ring magazine regularly awarded world championships to fighters that met its requirements. After a brief hiatus, The Ring Championship returned to the boxing world in 2001.

The Ring championship is governed by a set of strict and somewhat odd policies that have limited exposure and acclaim of their belts. Governed by the magazine’s editorial board, The Ring Ratings are compiled by a group of journalists from across the world with their input and analysis determining the rankings of fighters and their eligibility to compete for a belt. For example, if a champion loses a fight in their weight class, outside of The Ring championships, he or she will immediately be stripped of their belt. Moreover, if a fighter changes weight class, doesn’t fight for 18 months, avoids top-level competition for a period of two years, they’ll forfeit their belt. Any suspensions or failed drug tests also result in an immediate forfeit of a belt.

A great example of the absurdity of their policies is clear in the welterweight division. Floyd Mayweather first became The Ring welterweight champion in 2006, holding on to the belt until his initial retirement in 2008. The title was vacant until 2013, when, once again, Floyd Mayweather claimed the belt. After retiring for a second time in 2015, as of writing this boxing guide, the belt has remained vacant since his absence. To fully crystallize the point, since 2006, Mayweather has been the only person to hold The Ring welterweight title, even though he’s been retired for nine of the 13 years.

The Lineal Championship

Initially a close relative of The Ring Championship – before merging for a period – The Lineal Championship was reintroduced in 2012 after The Ring enacted severe policy changes that limited the eligibility of countless fighters. Even so, The Ring is still considered the more prestigious of the two championships.

Oddly enough, for a time anyway, the Lineal Championship was thought to be a true world championship in the mold of boxing titles in the past. Considered a golden age at the time, before the invention of sanctioning bodies, humorously referred to as the alphabet soup (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO), a Lineal Championship was awarded to one fighter in each division, thereby making them the undisputed champion of the world.

The word “Lineal” refers to the method of which the championship moved between fighters. Champions were to be decided in the ring without the interference of governing bodies, true to the core ethic of prizefighting.
Outside of match, the only way a champion could lose their belt was the following:

1. If he/she is beaten in a contest within his weight class.
2. If he/she formally retires.
3. If he/she vacates his weight class.

Vacancies are rectified by the number one and two contenders of a weight division being drawn against each other for a championship match. Rankings are determined by an independent ranking organization to maintain the impartiality and integrity of the championship.
Now, quite a few vacancies are open for Lineal Championships, however, a few big names still lead the way with the likes of Mikey Garcia, Canelo Alvarez, and Guillermo Rigondeaux holding active titles.
While it may have lost some of its pedigree after the split from The Ring, the Lineal Championships is still a historic belt that any prized fighter would be fortunate to hold.