The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

bouts, alongside the

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

(WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and

World Boxing Organization The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

(WBO). Many historically high-profile bouts have been sanctioned by the organization with various notable fighters having been recognised as WBC world champions. All four organizations recognise the legitimacy of each other and each have interwoven histories dating back several decades.

History

The WBC was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, the Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil. Representatives met in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

on 14 February 1963, upon invitation of

Adolfo López Mateos Adolfo López Mateos (; 26 May 1909 – 22 September 1969) was a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964. Beginning his political career as a campaign aide of José Vasconcelos during his run for president, Ló ...

, then

President of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

, to form an international organization to unify all commissions of the world to control the expansion of boxing. The groups that historically had recognized several boxers as champions included the

New York State Athletic Commission The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, ...

(NYSAC), the

National Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

(NBA) of the United States, the European Boxing Union (EBU) and the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC); but for the most part, these groups lacked the all-encompassing 'international' status they claimed. Today, it has 161 member countries. The current WBC President is Mauricio Sulaimán. Former Presidents include

Luis Spota Luis Mario Cayetano Spota Saavedra Ruotti Castañares (13 July 1925, Mexico City — 20 January 1985) was a Mexican writer, journalist, boxing official and film director. Although he never finished primary school, Spota became a highly successful ...

and Ramon G. Velázquez of Mexico, Justiniano N. Montano Jr. of the Philippines and

José Sulaimán José Sulaimán Chagnón (May 30, 1931 – January 16, 2014) was a Mexican boxing official. He was the president of the World Boxing Council. Biography Sulaimán's father was of Lebanese descent and his mother of Syrian descent and he was bor ...

of Mexico from 1975 until his death in 2014. In response to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, the Council blocked championship fights involving Russian and Belarusian boxers.

Championship

The WBC's green championship belt portrays the flags of all of the 161 member countries of the organization. All WBC world title belts look identical regardless of weight class; however, there are minor variations on the design for secondary and regionally themed titles within the same weight class. The WBC has nine regional governing bodies affiliated with it, such as the North American Boxing Federation, the

Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation The Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) is a professional boxing organization that sanctions title fights in the Asian and Pacific region. History Oriental boxing started in the Philippines in 1946 after the Spanish-American War. While ...

, the European Boxing Union, and the

African Boxing Union The African Boxing Union (ABU; French: ) is a not-for-profit regional sanctioning body that awards regional boxing titles in the African region. It is a boxing federation within the World Boxing Council (WBC), being affiliated with them since 19 ...

. Although rivals, the WBC's relationship with other sanctioning bodies has improved over time and there have even been talks of unification with the WBA. Unification bouts between WBC and other organizations' champions are becoming more common in recent years. Throughout its history, the WBC has allowed some of its organization's champions to fight unification fights with champions of other organizations, although there were times it stepped in to prevent such fights. For many years, it also prevented its champions from holding the WBO belt. When a WBO-recognized champion wished to fight for a WBC championship, he had to abandon his WBO title first, without any special considerations. This, however, is no longer the case. In 1983, following the death of

Kim Duk-koo Kim Duk-koo (Hangul:김득구; born Lee Deokgu, Hangul: 이덕구; July 29, 1955November 18, 1982) was a South Korean boxer who died after fighting in a world championship boxing match against Ray Mancini. His death sparked reforms aimed at bett ...

from injuries sustained in a 14-round fight against

Ray Mancini Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), best known as "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed professionally from 1979 to 1992 and who has since worked as an actor and sports commentator. H ...

, the WBC took the unprecedented step of reducing the distance of its world championship bouts, from 15 rounds to 12—a move other organizations soon followed (for boxers' safety). Among those to have been recognized by the WBC as world champions are the undefeated and undisputed champion

Terence Crawford Terence Allan Crawford (born September 28, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO welterweight title since 2018. Previously he held the WBO and '' Ring'' maga ...

Errol Spence Jr. Errol Spence Jr. (born March 3, 1990) is an American professional boxer. He is currently a unified welterweight world champion, having held the IBF title since May 2017, the WBC title since September 2019, and the WBA (Super) since April 2022. ...

Joe Calzaghe Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Undisputed), WBC, IBF, WBO, '' Ring'' magazin ...

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...

Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...

Wilfred Benítez Wilfred "Wilfredo" Benítez (born September 12, 1958) is an American-born Puerto Rican former professional boxer and the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Earning his first of three career world titles in separate weight division ...

Wilfredo Gómez Wilfredo Gómez RiveraJulio César Chávez,

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

, Joe Frazier,

Larry Holmes Larry Holmes (born November 3, 1949) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1973 to 2002 and was world heavyweight champion from 1978 until 1985. He grew up in Easton, Pennsylvania, which led to his boxing nickname of the "Ea ...

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professiona ...

Thomas Hearns Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra", and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and oversized arms and shoulders allowe ...

, Mike Tyson, Salvador Sánchez,

Héctor Camacho Héctor Luís Camacho Matías (May 24, 1962 – November 24, 2012), commonly known by his nickname "Macho" Camacho, was a Puerto Rican professional boxer and entertainer. Known for his quickness in the ring and flamboyant style, Camacho compet ...

Marvin Hagler Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight divisi ...

Carlos Monzón Carlos Roque Monzón (7 August 1942 – 8 January 1995), nicknamed Escopeta (''Shotgun'' in Spanish), was an Argentine professional boxer who held the undisputed world middleweight championship for 7 years. He successfully defended his title 14 ...

Rodrigo Valdez Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' ( Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last Vi ...

Roberto Durán Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held world championships in four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as w ...

, Juan Laporte, Félix Trinidad,

Edwin Rosario Edwin "Chapo" Rosario Rivera (; March 15, 1963 – December 1, 1997) was a Puerto Rican professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1997. He is a world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBC lightweight title from 1983 to 1984, ...

Bernard Hopkins Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight clas ...

Alexis Argüello Alexis Argüello (April 19, 1952 – July 1, 2009) was a Nicaraguan professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 1995, and later became a politician. He was a three-weight world champion, having held the WBA featherweight title from 1974 to 19 ...

Nigel Benn Nigel Gregory Benn (born 22 January 1964) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1996. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBO middleweight title in 1990 and the WBC super-middleweight ti ...

, Lennox Lewis,

Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv Érik Morales Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...

Miguel Cotto Miguel Ángel Cotto Vázquez (born October 29, 1980) is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the first Puerto Rican boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, ...

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

Canelo Álvarez Santos Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez Barragán (; born 18 July 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer. He has won multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of ...

Tony Bellew Anthony Lewis Bellew (born 30 November 1982) is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2018, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017, and challeng ...

Mairis Briedis Mairis Briedis (born 13 January 1985) is a Latvian professional boxer. He is a three-time cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF and ''Ring'' titles from 2020 to 2022; the WBC title from 2017 to 2018; and the WBO title in 2019. Up ...

and

Grigory Drozd Grigory Anatolyevich Drozd (russian: Григорий Анатольевич Дрозд; born 26 August 26, 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer. He is the former WBC cruiserweight champion, having lost the title when he was unable to ...

. At its discretion, the WBC may designate and recognize, upon a

two-thirds majority 2/3 may refer to: * A fraction with decimal value 0.6666... * A way to write the expression "2 ÷ 3" ("two divided by three") * 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines of the United States Marine Corps * February 3 * March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – ...

vote of its Board of Governors, one or more emeritus world champions in each weight class. Such a recognition is for life and is only bestowed upon present or past WBC world champions. The following boxers have earned the "Emeritus Championship" appellation throughout their careers: Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins (Honorary Champion),

Mikkel Kessler Mikkel Kessler (born 1 March 1979) is a Danish former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2013. He held multiple super-middleweight world championships, including the WBA title three times between 2004 and 2013, and the WBC title twic ...

, Sergio Martínez, Floyd Mayweather Jr.,

Kostya Tszyu Konstantin Borisovich "Kostya" Tszyu (; rus, Константин Борисович «Костя» Цзю, , kənstɐnʲˈtʲin bɐˈrisəvʲɪtɕ ˈkosʲtʲə ˈdzːʲu; born 19 September 1969) is a Russian Australian former professional b ...

, Manny Pacquiao,

Danny García Danny Óscar Garcia (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), WBC, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal light welterweight titles betwe ...

, Érik Morales,

Toshiaki Nishioka is a Japanese former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2012. He held the WBC super-bantamweight title from 2008 to 2012, and challenged for the WBO and ''The Ring super-bantamweight titles in his final-fight. Nishioka is known for h ...

Vic Darchinyan Vakhtang "Vic" Darchinyan ( hy, Վախթանգ Դարչինյան; born 7 January 1976) is an Armenian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF flyw ...

, Édgar Sosa and Tony Bellew. During the WBC's 51st Convention in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was named "Supreme Champion", a designation that nobody before him has ever achieved. The WBC bolstered the legitimacy of women's boxing by recognizing fighters such as Christy Martin and

Lucia Rijker Lucia Frederica Rijker (; born December 6, 1967) is a Dutch professional boxer, kickboxer, and actress. Rijker was sometimes dubbed by the press "The Most Dangerous Woman in the World". Early career Rijker speaks four languages and is a Bu ...

as contenders for female world titles in 16 weight divisions. The first WBC World Female Champion (on 30 May 2005) was the

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...

Jackie Nava Jacqueline Nava Mouett (born April 11, 1980) is a Mexican professional boxer. She is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA female bantamweight title in 2005; the WBC female super bantamweight title twice between 2 ...

from Mexico. With her former-champion father at ringside,

Laila Ali Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female sup ...

won the super middleweight title on 11 June 2005.

Silver Championship

In 2010, the WBC created a "Silver Championship", intended as a replacement for

interim title An interim championship is an alternate title that is awarded by the sanctioning bodies of professional boxing, and in other combat sports such as kickboxing, professional wrestling, and mixed martial arts. Occasionally, the champion of a partic ...

Justin Savi Justin Savi (born 30 October 1984) is a Beninese professional boxer who goes by the nickname of "Le Malin" (The Bad Guy). His professional record includes 24 fights: 24 wins (16 knockouts). He lives in Cotonou, Benin. On April 16, 2010, he won th ...

was the first boxer to win a Silver title after defeating

Cyril Thomas Cyril Thomas (born October 30, 1976) is a professional boxer from France. Thomas was born in Saint-Quentin, Aisne Saint-Quentin (; pcd, Saint-Kintin; nl, label=older Dutch, Sint-Kwintens ) is a city in the Aisne department, Hauts-de-Franc ...

on 16 April 2010. Unlike its interim predecessor, a boxer holding the Silver title cannot automatically inherit a full world title vacated by the champion. The WBC continues to recognize interim and Silver Champions, as well as interim Silver Champions. A year later, the WBC introduced Silver versions to its International titles. As of 2020, there are Silver titles of the female world title, Youth World title, USNBC title, Latino title and also FECARBOX title.

Diamond Championship

In September 2009, the WBC created its new "Diamond Championship" belt. This belt was created as an honorary championship exclusively to award the winner of a historic fight between two high-profile and elite boxers. The inaugural Diamond belt was awarded on 14 November 2009 to Manny Pacquiao, who won his 7th world title (in seven different divisions) via a 12th-round technical knockout (TKO) over Miguel Cotto at

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, United States. Other holders of this title have included Mairis Briedis ( cruiserweight), Bernard Hopkins ( light heavyweight),

Callum Smith Callum John Smith (born 23 April 1990) is an English professional boxer. He held the WBA (Super) and '' Ring'' magazine super-middleweight titles from 2018 to 2020, and at regional level the British and European super-middleweight titles bet ...

(super middleweight), Sergio Martínez and Canelo Álvarez (

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

), Floyd Mayweather Jr. (

super welterweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the IBF or super welterweight in the WBA an ...

(welterweight),

Regis Prograis Regis Prograis ( ; born January 24, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He has held the WBC super lightweight title since November 2022, and previously the WBA super lightweight title in 2019. As of February 2021, he is ranked as the world' ...

and

Josh Taylor Josh or Joshua Taylor may refer to: * Josh Taylor (actor) (born 1943), American comedy and dramatic television actor * Josh Taylor (baseball) (born 1993), American professional baseball pitcher * Josh Taylor (boxer) (born 1991), Scottish professi ...

( super lightweight),

Nonito Donaire Nonito Gonzales Donaire Jr. (; ; born November 16, 1982) is a Filipino American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from flyweight to featherweight, and is the oldest boxer in history to win a ...

(super bantamweight and

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

Léo Santa Cruz Léodegario Santa Cruz (born 10 August 1988) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a four-weight world champion, having held the IBF bantamweight title from 2012 to 2013, the WBC super bantamweight title from 2013 to 2015, the WBA (Super) f ...

(

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

Jean Pascal Jean-Thenistor Pascal (born 28 October 1982) is a Haitian-born Canadian professional boxer. He held the WBA (Regular) light-heavyweight title from 2019 to 2021, and previously the WBC, IBO, '' Ring'' magazine and lineal light-heavyweight tit ...

and

Sergey Kovalev Sergey Alexandrovich Kovalev (russian: Сергей Александрович Ковалёв (Ko-va-LYOV); born 2 April 1983) is a Russian professional boxer. He has held multiple light-heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Undi ...

(light heavyweight),

Mikey Garcia Miguel Angel Garcia Cortez (born December 15, 1987), best known as Mikey Garcia, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2021. He held multiple world championships in four weight classes from featherweight to light w ...

(welterweight and super lightweight),

Jorge Linares Jorge Luis Linares Palencia (born 22 August 1985) is a Venezuelan professional boxer. He has held world championships in three weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from 2007 to 2008; the WBA super featherweight title from 20 ...

(

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

), Alexander Povetkin (

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

), and Román González (super flyweight). Female Diamond champions have included

Claressa Shields Claressa Maria Shields (born March 17, 1995) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist. She has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the undisputed female light middleweight title since March 20 ...

(middleweight),

Amanda Serrano Amanda Serrano (born October 9, 1988) is a Puerto Rican professional boxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. As a boxer, she is the unified featherweight world champion, having held the WBO title since 2019 and the WBC and IBO ...

(super bantamweight), Ana María Torres (bantamweight), Raja Amasheh (

super flyweight Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . History The first title match in this division was in 1980, when the World Boxing Council respond ...

Ava Knight Ava Michelle Knight-Salicka (born ) is an American professional boxer. She held the IBF female flyweight title from 2011 to 2012 and has challenged for world titles in three weight divisions; the WBC female super flyweight title in 2009; the WB ...

and Jessica Chávez (

flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of b ...

). Although this title can be defended, it is not a mandatory requirement. The title can also be vacated in the case of a fighter's long-term absence or retirement from boxing.

Franchise Championship

In 2019, the WBC Franchise Championship was introduced as an honorary title awarded to dominant champions that have represented the WBC and is a special designation and status which the WBC may honor to a current WBC World Champion, who is also an elite boxer, and who remains a top performer in the sport. Boxers who has been given the honorary title, must vacate their WBC world title in that division as the honorary title is transferable. Boxers who have been named WBC Franchise Champion include: Canelo Alvarez (middleweight; 2019–2020),

Vasiliy Lomachenko Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko ( uk, Василь Анатолійович Ломаченко, ; also spelled Vasiliy; born 17 February 1988) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes fr ...

(lightweight; 2019–2020),

Teófimo López Teófimo Andrés López Rivera (born July 30, 1997) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified lightweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2019 to November 2021, and the WBA (Super), WBO, and '' The Ring'' magazi ...

(lightweight; 2020–2021),

Juan Francisco Estrada Juan Francisco Estrada Romero (born April 14, 1990) is a Mexican professional boxer. He is a two-weight world champion, having held ''The Ring'' super flyweight title since 2019. He previously held the WBA (Unified) and WBO flyweight titles be ...

(super flyweight; since 2021), and

George Kambosos Jr. George Kambosos Jr (born 14 June 1993) is an Australian professional boxer who held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and '' The Ring'' lightweight titles from 2021 to June 2022. As of September 2022, he's ranked as the world's number one lightweight by ...

(lightweight; 2021–2022).

Eternal Championship

The WBC Eternal Championship is an honorary title awarded to dominant champions that have never lost a world title and retired undefeated while having a solid number of successful title defenses. Jiselle Salandy was awarded the Eternal title as she defended the WBC female super welterweight title five times before her death on 4 January 2009. On 12 December 2016, Vitali Klitschko was recognized as "Eternal Champion", as he had 10 successful WBC heavyweight title defenses during his career before his retirement in 2013 and was never knocked down throughout his career either.

Commemorative Belts

The WBC also awards commemorative belts to certain boxers as trophies for winning historic fights or exhibition matches. The following are the recipients of the commemorative belts: *24K Gold — Floyd Mayweather Jr. (September 14, 2013) *Emerald — Floyd Mayweather Jr. (May 2, 2015) *Onyx — Joe Smith Jr. (December 17, 2016) *Huichol I — Canelo Álvarez (May 6, 2017) *Money — Floyd Mayweather Jr. (August 26, 2017) *Huichol II — Gennady Golovkin (September 16, 2017) *Chiapaneco I — Gennady Golovkin (May 5, 2018) *Chiapaneco II — Canelo Álvarez (September 15, 2018) *Maya I — Canelo Álvarez (May 4, 2019) *Maya II — Tyson Fury (September 14, 2019) *Mazahua — Heroes of Humanity (May 5, 2020) *Otomi — Julio César Chávez (September 25, 2020) *Frontline Battle — Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. (November 28, 2020) *Health Care Hero — Errol Spence Jr. (December 5, 2020) *Mestizo — Canelo Álvarez (May 8, 2021) *Freedom — Jermall Charlo (June 19, 2021) *Crypto — Sujithan Suntharavel (October 16, 2021) *Teotihuacan — Canelo Álvarez (November 6, 2021) *Union — Tyson Fury (April 23, 2022)

Controversies

In early 1998,

announced that he was relinquishing his WBC light heavyweight title. In response, the WBC ordered a bout between

Graciano Rocchigiani Graciano Rocchigiani (29 December 1963 – 1 October 2018) was a German professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2003. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF super-middleweight title from 1988 to 1989, and the ...

from Germany and the former champion

Michael Nunn Michael John Nunn (born April 14, 1963) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF middleweight title from 1988 to 1991, and the WBA super middleweight title ...

to fill the vacancy, sanctioning it as a world championship match. On 21 March 1998, Rocchigiani won the fight and a WBC belt; in the subsequent WBC rankings, he was listed as "Light Heavyweight World Champion". Jones, however, had a change of heart and asked if the WBC would reinstate him as the champion. In a move that violated nearly a dozen of its own regulations, the WBC granted the reinstatement. Rocchigiani received a letter from the WBC advising that the publication of his name as champion was a typographical error and he had never been the official title holder. Rocchigiani immediately filed a lawsuit against the WBC in a

U.S. federal court The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

, claiming that the organization's actions were both contrary to their own rules and injurious to his earning potential (due to diminished professional stature). On 7 May 2003, the judge ruled in Rocchigiani's favor, awarding him $31 million (U.S.) in damages and reinstating him as a former WBC champion (Rocchigiani had lost a bout since his WBC title match). The following day, the WBC sought protection by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (i.e., corporate debt restructuring) in Puerto Rico. The organization spent the next 13 months trying to negotiate a 6-figure settlement with Rocchigiani, but the fighter at first rejected the proposal. On 11 June 2004, the WBC announced it would enter

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...

liquidation (i.e., business closing and total asset sell-off) proceedings, effectively threatening its existence. This action prompted some in the boxing community to plead with Rocchigiani to settle the dispute, which he did in mid-July 2004.

Don King

Many in the boxing community have accused the WBC of bending its rules to suit the powerful boxing promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

. The journalist

Jack Newfield Jack Abraham Newfield (February 18, 1938 – December 21, 2004) was an American journalist, columnist, author, documentary filmmaker and activist. Newfield wrote for the ''Village Voice'', ''New York Daily News'', ''New York Post'', ''New Y ...

wrote, "... BC President José Sulaimánbecame more King's junior partner than his independent regulator". Another journalist, Peter Heller, echoes that comment: "Sulaimán...became little more than an errand boy for Don King". Heller quotes

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

promoter

Mickey Duff Mickey Duff (7 June 1929 – 22 March 2014), was a Polish-born British boxer, matchmaker, manager and promoter. Early life Duff was born Monek Prager to a Jewish family in Tarnów, Poland on 7 June 1929. His father, a rabbi, helped the family ...

as saying, "My complaint is that José Sulaimán is not happy his friend Don King is the biggest promoter in boxing. Sulaimán will only be happy when Don King is the ''only'' promoter in boxing." Newfield and Heller take issue with the following actions of the WBC: * When

Leon Spinks Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

won the WBA and WBC Heavyweight Championships from Muhammad Ali in 1978, the WBC stripped Leon Spinks of his title. José Sulaimán said the WBC did so because Spinks was signed for a rematch with Ali instead of fighting a Don King fighter, Ken Norton. Norton defended the WBC title against another Don King fighter,

, who won the belt. * In 1983, WBC Super Featherweight Champion

Bobby Chacon Bobby Chacon (November 28, 1951 – September 7, 2016) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1988. He held titles in two weight classes, including the WBC featherweight title from September 1974 to June 1975 and the WBC su ...

was signed to fight

Cornelius Boza-Edwards Cornelius Boza-Edwards (born Cornelius Bbosa; 27 May 1956) is the former WBC Super Featherweight Champion of the World. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he fought in both the super-featherweight and lightweight divisions. He emigrated from Uganda to En ...

, the WBC's mandatory challenger for his title. But, the promoter Don King wanted his fighter, Héctor Camacho, to fight for the title. Although WBC rules said the mandatory challenger should receive a shot at the title, the WBC withdrew its sanction from the fight. It stripped Chacon of his title for refusing to fight Camacho. * Under WBC rules, a fighter is supposed to defend his title against a mandatory challenger at least once a year. For fighters controlled by Don King, this rule is often ignored. For instance, Alexis Argüello and Carlos Zárate were allowed to ignore their obligations as WBC champions to their mandatory contenders. * When WBC Super Featherweight Champion Julio César Chávez wanted to fight top contender

Roger Mayweather Roger Mayweather (April 24, 1961 – March 17, 2020) was an American boxing trainer and former professional boxer who competed from 1981 to 1999. He was a two-division world champion, having held the WBA and ''The Ring'' super featherweight tit ...

for a promoter other than Don King, the WBC withheld its sanction of the fight until Don King became promoter. * When Mike Tyson lost to James "Buster" Douglas during an IBF, WBC and WBA Heavyweight Championship defense, King convinced the WBC (along with the WBA) to withhold recognition of Douglas as heavyweight champion. King claimed that Tyson had won the fight by knocking Douglas down, after which the referee gave Douglas a "

long count Long count or slow count is a term used in boxing. When a boxer is knocked down in a fight, the referee will count over them and the boxer must rise to their feet, unaided, by the count of ten or else deemed to have been knocked out. A long count ...

". The referee,

Octavio Meyran Octavio Meyran Sanchez is a Mexican former boxing referee. During his career Meyran officiated at over twenty-seven world title fights including the No Más fight between Roberto Durán and Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980, Wilfredo Gómez's WBC Feath ...

, claims in an

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

that King threatened to have the WBC withhold payment of his hotel bill if he did not support King's protest. Because of intense public pressure, both the WBA and WBC backed down and recognized Douglas as champion. * In 1992, the WBC threatened to strip Evander Holyfield of his title for defending it against Riddick Bowe instead of Razor Ruddock. Holyfield obtained a court order to stop the organization. In a taped deposition for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Holyfield said that the WBC wanted him to defend his championship against Ruddock because Ruddock was managed by King. * During the 1990s, the WBC did not allow its champions to engage in unification bouts with WBO champions. However, in 1993, the super middleweight showdown between WBC champion Nigel Benn and WBO champion

Chris Eubank Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the th ...

, promoted by Don King, was recognized as a title unification fight by the WBC. The bout ended in a draw and each retained their respective titles. * When Mike Tyson was released from prison in 1995, the WBC installed him as their #1 contender for their heavyweight championship. Tyson had not fought in four years, but was promoted by Don King. * In 1993, Julio César Chávez, managed and promoted by Don King, received a majority draw against

Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...

in their WBC welterweight title fight in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Virtually every ringside observer and boxing analyst had Whitaker winning at least 8 or 9 rounds of the 12-round fight and

CompuBox CompuBox is the name of a computerized punches scoring system run by two operators. CompuBox is used in boxing matches around the world. Background The system is based on a computer program, originally named FightStat, developed by Jon Gibbs in ...

statistics showed Whitaker outlanding Chávez by a wide margin. But two of the three judges had the fight scored even. The fight was promoted by King and two of the judges were not appointed by the state's boxing commission (in this case, Texas) like any other time; instead, they were appointed by the WBC. It had been reported that Don King had a hand in helping to secure the WBC judges for the fight. To this day, the resulting draw is considered one of the most controversial decisions ever. * In 2000, Chávez, still promoted by King, was made the mandatory challenger for Kostya Tszyu's WBC super lightweight title. Chávez did not appear to satisfy requirements for a mandatory challenger: he had not fought at super lightweight for two years, had recently lost to journeyman boxer

Willy Wise William Bernard "Willy" Wise (born January 29, 1967) is a retired American professional boxer from Onancock, Virginia. Wise has an IBO world title, but is best known for his 1999 upset of Julio Cesar Chavez. Wise was partially reared in Westbur ...

and had not beaten a top contender since losing to

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...

for the first time in 1996. * In 2005, the WBC stripped

Javier Castillejo Francisco Javier Castillejo Rodríguez (born 22 March 1968), commonly known as Javier Castillejo, is a Spanish former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2009. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the ...

of his super welterweight title for fighting

Fernando Vargas Fernando Javier Vargas (born December 7, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. He was a two-time light middleweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 1998 to 2000, and the WBA title from 200 ...

instead of

Ricardo Mayorga Ricardo Antonio Mayorga Perez (born October 3, 1973) is a Nicaraguan professional boxer and former mixed martial artist. In boxing he is a former two-weight world champion, having held the unified WBA (Unified), WBC, ''Ring'' magazine, and li ...

, a fighter promoted by Don King. The WBC qualified Mayorga for a shot at the super welterweight title although he had never fought at that weight limit and had lost two of his last three fights.

Current WBC world title holders

As of

Male

Female

Affiliated organizations

(OPBF) * North American Boxing Federation (NABF) * European Boxing Union (EBU) * Asian Boxing Council (ABCO) *

(ABU) * WBC Middle East Boxing Council (WBC MEBC) * United States National Boxing Council (USNBC) *

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Boxing Federation (CABOFE) *

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

n Boxing Federation (FECARBOX) * CIS and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n Boxing Bureau (CISBB) *

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

n Continental Boxing Federation (FECONSUR) * Hispanic World Boxing Association (ABMH) *

World Boxing Council Muaythai In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

(WBC Muaythai)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Professional boxing organizations Sports organizations established in 1963 1963 establishments in Mexico International sports organizations Boxing