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World Bo xing Organization

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"WBO" redirects here. For other uses, seeWBO (disambiguation).

World Bo xing Organization
AbbreviationWBO
Formation1988;36 years ago(1988)
TypeNon-profit institution
PurposeBo xing sanctioning
HeadquartersSan Juan,Puerto Rico
Region served
Worldwide
President
Francisco Varcárcel
Main organ
General Assembly
Websitewww.wbobo xing

TheWorld Bo xing Organization(WBO) is an organization which sanctionsprofessional bo xingbouts. It is recognized by theInternational Bo xing Hall of Fame(IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside theWorld Bo xing Association(WBA),World Bo xing Council(WBC), andInternational Bo xing Federation(IBF). The WBO's headquarters are located inSan Juan,Puerto Rico.

History

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The WBO started after a group ofPuerto RicanandDominicanbusinessmen broke out of theWBA's 1988 annual convention inIsla Margarita,Venezuela over disputes regarding what rules should be applied.[1]

The WBO's first president was Ramon Pina Acevedo of the Dominican Republic. Soon after its beginning, the WBO was staging world championship bouts around the globe. Its first championship fight was for its vacantsuper middleweighttitle, betweenThomas HearnsandJames Kinchen;Hearns won by decision. In order to gain respectability, the WBO next elected former world light heavyweight championJosé TorresofPonce, Puerto Rico,as its president. Torres left in 1996, giving way to Puerto Rican lawyer Francisco Valcarcel as president. Valcarcel has held that position since.

While theIBFhad awarded recognition toLarry Holmessoon after its inception in 1983 (as they did with several established champions in the lower weight divisions), the WBO sanctioned a fight between two relatively unknown fighters,Francesco Damiani(winner of the super heavyweight silver medal at the1984 Summer Olympics) andJohnny DuPlooy,to determine the inaugural holder of its own heavyweight title in 1989. All other sanctioning bodies of bo xing recognized the then-undefeatedMike Tysonas the undisputed heavyweight champion. Damiani, meanwhile, went on to become the first WBO heavyweight champion.[2][3]At heavyweight, especially in the United States, the organization initially struggled to gain credibility as a major sanctioning body, with WBO heavyweight championsMichael Moorer,Riddick Bowe,andHenry Akinwanderelinquishing the title to pursue other options. Bo xing publicationThe Ringalso did not recognize the WBO, despite having recognized the IBF after its inception in 1983, five years prior to the WBO.

In the lighter weight divisions, however, long-reigning champions during the 1990s such asChris Eubank,Dariusz Michalczewski,Johnny Tapia,andNaseem Hamedgave the WBO title increasingly more prestige. The WBO was also made popular by boxers such asMarco Antonio Barrera,Oscar De La Hoya,Nigel Benn,Ronald "Winky" Wright,Joe Calzaghe,andWladimir Klitschko,all of whom held its title.

On August 23, 1997, WBCminimumweightchampionRicardo Lópezwon the WBO minimumweight title by knocking out Puerto Rican fighterAlex Sánchez.After the bout, López told a Mexican newspaper that he wanted to give his newly won championship belt to his father, who is a bo xing fan. WBO president Francisco Valcarcel said he viewed that comment as a public resignation and declared the title vacant without holding a hearing or notifying López. The WBO sanctioned a bout betweenEric Jamili(10–5–1) andMickey Cantwell(13–4–1) to fill the vacancy despite protests by López.[4]

In Europe, the WBO was more accepted during its early years than in the U.S., and WBO champions always fared well in unification bouts with WBA, WBC, and IBF champions. For example, WBO light heavyweight champion Michalczewski unified his title with the WBA and IBF titles by defeatingVirgil Hill.WBO featherweight champion Naseem Hamed also defeated the reigning WBA, WBC and IBF champions in the same weight class. By 2000, the WBA was giving the same recognition to WBO champions as it did to WBC and IBF champions.[5]

In 2004 the WBC began naming WBO champions on its ranking listings.[6]The IBF did not recognize the WBO in May 2006,[7]but was doing so by February 2007.[8]WBO regulations explicitly recognize the other three sanctioning bodies.[9]For many years, as with the IBF, boxers based in Japan were not permitted to fight for WBO titles. In 2012, theJapan Bo xing Commission(JBC) recognized the governing body.[10]In August 2016, the WBO Asia Pacific Championship was recognized by the JBC and the Japan Professional Bo xing Association (JPBA).[11]

WBO men's championship belts are brown, whereas women's championship belts are pink.

In response to the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,the WBO blocked championship fights involving Russian and Belarusian boxers.[12]

Super titles

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Since the early 2000s, the WBO has awarded the honorary title of "Super Champion" to certain boxers, in any given weight class, who fulfil a set of distinguished criteria.[13]Boxers who have been named WBO Super Champion include:Anthony Joshua,Wladimir Klitschko,Oleksandr Usyk,Joe Calzaghe,Oscar De La Hoya,Bernard Hopkins,Jermain Taylor,Kelly Pavlik,Saúl Álvarez,Juan Manuel Márquez,Juan Díaz,Naoya Inoue,Manny Pacquiao,Timothy Bradley,Marco Antonio Barrera,Fernando Montiel,Jorge Arce,Omar Narváez,Donnie Nietes,Kosei Tanaka,Iván Calderón,Marco Huck,Sergey Kovalev,Vasyl Lomachenko,andTerence Crawford.There are currently only two female boxers who earned the distinction of "Super Champion":Amanda SerranoandClaressa Shields.

This title is not an actual world championship in the same vein as theWBA's Super titles;it is more akin to a lifetime achievement award. A boxer awarded the status of WBO Super Champion cannot win the title from or lose it to another boxer; recognition as Super Champion can be maintained even if a boxer moves to another weight class.

Ranking system

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The WBO publishes monthly rankings, with fighters that win regional championships sanctioned by its subsidiaries being given priority. The World Championship Committee exists to name amandatory challenger,whom the incumbent champion is forced to fight within an arbitrary timeframe, when this term should be extended, when eliminatories are warranted and when a title is stripped.[14]The body is also responsible for determining who the challengers should be in the case of vacancy or the necessity of an interim title.[14]Exception to this rule are those recognized as "Super Champions", who can directly challenge for the world championship in another division even if they have not fought in it before. There are other superficial differences between the WBO and other bodies, such as the listing of the 140 lb. division as "junior welterweight", whereas the WBC uses the term "super lightweight".

Prior to the WBO being recognized as a major sanctioning body, the system displayed vulnerability when deceased boxerDarrin Morriswas moved up twice in the super-middleweights in 2001. In addition, Morris had only fought once in the three years before his death, beating a fighter with only 17 wins out of 81 fights. Morris was Number 7 at the time of his death and Number 5 when the WBO discovered the error. Valcarcel said, "We obviously missed the fact that Darrin was dead. It is regrettable." Valcarcel also stated that other bo xing sanctioning organizations had made similar errors in the past by continuing to rank another boxer after he was dead.[15]One week after British newspaperThe Independentbroke the story that one of the three men ranking the boxers, Gordon Volkman, still had not heard that Morris was dead.[16]

Relationship with other bodies

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Under Valcárcel, the WBO was the only sanctioning body that was absent from a summit held in 2014 where the possibility of a single champion per division was to be discussed.[17]In 2014, he publicly opposed the awarding of half-points within the 10-Point Must System favored by the other three.[18]Individually, Valcárcel has also been critical of the WBC for creating the "Maya Belt" and placing it in play in fights where the WBO title was at stake.[19]Another topic that he commented negatively about was the WBA's sanctioning of up to four champions per division.[20]Despite this, following the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemicand the economic impact on the sport, the WBO invited the presidents of the other organizations to a reunion of its executive board held in October 2021.[21]The main topic of concern was how to manage the mandatory challengers of unified and undisputed champions, in lieu of the promoters and television/streaming platforms complaining about the logistics of consecutive obligatory defenses.[22]This was the first time that the leaders of the four main organizations met personally, with the idea of sanctioning a single champion per division being discussed.[22]

In other media

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The series finale of JapanesemangaseriesBleachrevolves around the main cast gathering to watch a fight in which a character namedYasutora Sadois involved, having become a professional boxer ten years after the storyline and challenging for the WBO world heavyweight championship.[23]The entity has, on occasion, been involved in other areas of sports entertainment, such as when it allowed René Santiago to defend the North American Bo xing Organization minimumweight title in a staged match against Fernando Tonos as part of aprofessional wrestlingcard held by theInternational Wrestling Association(IWA-PR).[24]The WBO World Heavyweight Championship also appears as a minor storyline element inCreed III,as one of the belts held by the titular character as undisputed titlist of his division.

Current WBO world title holders

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As of 29 August 2024

Male

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Weight class Champion Reign began Days
Mini flyweight(105 lbs) Oscar Collazo 27 May 2023 460
Junior flyweight(108 lbs) Vacant
Flyweight(112 lbs) Anthony Olascuaga 20 July 2024 40
Junior bantamweight(115 lbs) Kosei Tanaka 23 February 2024 188
Bantamweight(118 lbs) Yoshiki Takei 5 May 2024 116
Junior featherweight(122 lbs) Naoya Inoue 25 July 2023 401
Featherweight(126 lbs) Rafael Espinoza 9 December 2023 264
Junior lightweight(130 lbs) Emanuel Navarrete 3 February 2023 573
Lightweight(135 lbs) Denys Berinchyk 18 May 2024 103
Junior welterweight(140 lbs) Teofimo Lopez 9 June 2023 447
Welterweight(147 lbs) Brian Norman Jr. 12 August 2024 17
Junior middleweight(154 lbs) Sebastian Fundora 30 March 2024 152
Terence Crawford(Interim) 3 August 2024 26
Middleweight(160 lbs) Janibek Alimkhanuly 25 August 2022 735
Super middleweight(168 lbs) Canelo Alvarez 8 May 2021 1209
Light heavyweight(175 lbs) Artur Beterbiev 18 June 2022 803
Junior heavyweight(200 lbs) Chris Billam-Smith 27 May 2023 460
Heavyweight(200+ lbs) Oleksandr Usyk 24 September 2021 1070
Joseph Parker(Interim) 7 March 2024 175

Female

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Weight class Champion Reign began Days
Atomweight(102 lbs) Eri Matsuda 12 January 2024 230
Mini flyweight(105 lbs) Seniesa Estrada 29 March 2024 153
Junior flyweight(108 lbs) Evelyn Bermudez 10 March 2023 538
Flyweight(112 lbs) Gabriela Celeste Alaniz 27 April 2024 124
Junior bantamweight(115 lbs) Mizuki Hiruta 1 December 2022 637
Bantamweight(118 lbs) Dina Thorslund 25 June 2021 1161
Junior featherweight(122 lbs) Ellie Scotney 13 April 2024 138
Featherweight(126 lbs) Amanda Serrano 10 December 2016 2819
Brenda Karen Carabajal (interim) 13 May 2023 474
Junior lightweight(130 lbs) Alycia Baumgardner 15 October 2022 1398
Lightweight(135 lbs) Rhiannon Dixon 13 April 2024 138
Junior welterweight(140 lbs) Katie Taylor 25 November 2023 278
Welterweight(147 lbs) Sandy Ryan 22 April 2023 495
Junior middleweight(154 lbs) Natasha Jonas 19 February 2022 922
Middleweight(160 lbs) Claressa Shields 15 October 2022 684
Super middleweight(168 lbs) Savannah Marshall 1 July 2023 425
Light heavyweight(175 lbs) Claressa Shields 27 July 2024 33
Heavyweight(175+ lbs) vacant

WBO affiliated organizations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Tranton, Philip (January 21, 2016).Gennady Golovkin: Getting to Know the Story GGG.Conceptual Kings.
  2. ^Hurley, Matthew (August 11, 2007)."Klitschko Ibragimov Close To Being Set For February".East Side Bo xing.RetrievedJune 3,2009.The WBO, which was introduced in 1989, was not generally considered a legitimate heavyweight belt at the time. The organization's first heavyweight champion was Francesco Damiani whose short reign came during Mike Tyson's run as undisputed champion.
  3. ^Hauser, Thomas (March 16, 2008)."The Heavyweight Follies".SecondsOut.RetrievedJune 3,2009.And the WBO belt has NEVER been carried into the ring by the true heavyweight champion of the world. The first WBO heavyweight beltholder was Francesco Damiani, who won the bauble by knocking out Johnny DuPlooy in 1989
  4. ^"PLUS: BOXING; Jamili Takes Strawweight Title".The New York Times.December 20, 1997.
  5. ^"Super championships guidelines".WBA. Archived fromthe originalon November 19, 2001.RetrievedNovember 14,2008.
  6. ^Compare
    "WBC Bantamweight Ratings (incl. WBO)".WBC. Archived fromthe originalon August 3, 2004.RetrievedNovember 15,2008. and
    "WBC Bantamweight Ratings (excl. WBO)".WBC. Archived fromthe originalon February 4, 2004.RetrievedNovember 15,2008.
  7. ^ "IBF/USBA Rules Governing Championship Contests"(PDF).IBF. May 2006. pp. 10–11.RetrievedNovember 15,2008.For the purpose of unification of titles, the Champions of the World Bo xing Association ('WBA') and the World Bo xing Council ('WBC') may be designated as 'elite contenders' and may be permitted to fight for the unified title. Unification bouts with other organizations will be considered on a case to case basis.
  8. ^ "IBF Ratings".IBF. February 2007. Archived fromthe originalon February 2, 2007.RetrievedNovember 15,2008.
  9. ^ "§7 unification bouts and unification tournaments as mandatory title bouts".Regulations of World Championship Contests.WBO. p. 8.RetrievedNovember 14,2008.
  10. ^Myron Sta. Ana (November 20, 2012)."Wars Katsumata Wins by Knockout in Japan".PhilBo xing.RetrievedNovember 21,2012.
  11. ^Joe Koizumi (August 18, 2016)."WBO Asia Pacific championship recognized by JBC, JPBA".FightNews. Archived fromthe originalon August 19, 2016.RetrievedAugust 23,2016.
  12. ^"Alan Hubbard: How Russian champion Bivol sent shockwaves down Mexico way".insidethegames.biz.May 11, 2022.
  13. ^"What is a WBO" Super Champion "".WBO. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  14. ^ab"WBO | Regulations - WBO".Wbobo xing.RetrievedDecember 4,2019.
  15. ^Bunce, Steve (February 13, 2001)."Death no barrier to fighter's rise in rankings".The Independent.London. Archived fromthe originalon May 16, 2011.RetrievedMarch 1,2009.
  16. ^Graham, Tim (February 20, 2001)."New WBO division: Dead weight".ESPN.RetrievedMarch 1,2009.
  17. ^"El boricua Paco Valcárcel será el gran ausente en la cumbre de boxeo".El Nuevo Dia.June 23, 2014.
  18. ^"Francisco Valcárcel en contra de calificar con medio punto".Univision.
  19. ^"El presidente de la OMB Valcarcel arremete contra el CMB por la creación de cinturones".Solo Boxeo.September 4, 2019.
  20. ^"Valcárcel critica a la AMB".¡Que Palo! Deportes.
  21. ^"En la isla los presidentes de los cuatro organismos"(in Spanish). The Gondol. October 19, 2021.RetrievedOctober 19,2021.
  22. ^ab"Exitosa primera reunión entre los presidentes de los organismos mundiales | Boxeo | elvocero".
  23. ^Byron Cayetano (August 17, 2016)."Bleach' chapter 686 spoilers are out! Meet Ichigo and Inoue's son Kazui; Rukia and Renji marries".Yibada.RetrievedAugust 23,2016.
  24. ^AB Morales (April 5, 2023)."Mirando La Promesa - IWA Zona Caliente"(in Spanish). ImpactoEstelar.RetrievedApril 23,2023.
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