World Boxing Federation

Professional boxing organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World Boxing Federation

The World Boxing Federation (WBF) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It was created in 1988.[1]

Quick Facts Abbreviation, Formation ...
World Boxing Federation
AbbreviationWBF
Formation1988
TypeNon-profit institution
PurposeBoxing sanctioning organization
HeadquartersLuxembourg
Region served
Worldwide
President
Howard Goldberg
Websitewww.worldboxingfederation.org
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Perspective

The World Boxing Federation was originally established in 1988 by Larry Carrier, who was part owner of Bristol Motor Speedway in northeastern Tennessee.[2][3][4][5] It was an expanded version of the American Pro Boxing Association.[6] 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.[6][7][8] 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.[9][7] The WBF also sought to promote itself in an honest manner and help the sport.[7] 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.[10][8] The WBF's titles were not initially recognized by the British Boxing Board of Control and had to wait until 1995 to achieve recognition.[11] The company had 17 field offices outside of the US by 1995[12] and the company moved its headquarters to Las Vegas prior to 1998.[13] Larry Carrier sold the WBF to Ron Scalf in June 1998.[14][15] The organization closed in 2004 after losing a lawsuit[16] and was revived in 2009.[1][11][17] In 2022, the promotion announced that they would no longer sanction title fights with boxers with negative records in an effort to raise standards.[18]

The organization has sanctioned matches on 6 of the 7 continents.[19] The organization has three levels of champions including World champions, Intercontinental champions and International champions. The organization also sanctions women's boxing matches.[19] The promotion also monitors its judges closely and feels integrity is its greatest asset.[20]

The promotion also had their own magazine called, "Inside Boxing with the WBF".[4]

Current WBF World Champions

As of 1 April 2025 (men):

More information Weight class:, Champion: ...
Weight class: Champion: Reign began:
Minimumweight vacant
Light flyweight vacant
Flyweight vacant
Super flyweight vacant
Bantamweight  Agustin Perez Balbuena (MEX) (interim) August 13, 2022
Super bantamweight vacant
Featherweight vacant
Super featherweight  Lunga Stimela (SAF) July 9, 2022
Lightweight vacant
Super lightweight vacant
Welterweight  Meriton Karaxha (ALB) November 1, 2019
Super welterweight  Freddy Kiwitt (LBR) November 24, 2023
Middleweight  Angelo Frank (GER) October 3, 2024
Super middleweight  Alexander Rigas (GER) June 22, 2024
Light heavyweight  Kambis Rahmani (GER) April 27, 2024
Cruiserweight  Artur Mann (GER) November 2, 2024
Bridgerweight  Senad Gashi (GER) September 14, 2024
Heavyweight  Arnold Gjergjaj (SUI) September 2, 2023
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Notable Past WBF champions

See also

References

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