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 bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

bouts. It was created in 1988.

Information

The World Boxing Federation was originally established in 1988 by Larry Carrier, who was part owner of

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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 champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...