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 that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
bouts, alongside the
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level.
Founded ...
(WBA),
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts. The others are the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing C ...
(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, Tunisia, the Philippines, Panama, USSR, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil. Representatives met in
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
on 14 February 1963, upon invitation of
Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos (; 26 May 1909 – 22 September 1969) was a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964. Previously, he served as Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare, Secretary of Labor and Social ...
, then
President of Mexico
The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
, 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 ...
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the EBU European Championship, in addition to their ...
(EBU) and 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. ...
(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 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, best known for serving as president of the World Boxing Council (WBC) from 1975 until his death in 2014. During his nearly four decades at the helm, Sul ...
of Mexico from 1975 until his death in 2014.
In response to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, 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 North American Boxing Federation (NABF) is a not-for-profit regional sanctioning body that awards regional boxing titles. It is a boxing federation within the World Boxing Council (WBC).
History
The WBC established the NABF in 1969 as part of ...
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), having been affiliated with them si ...
.
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 (; born Lee Deok-gu, ; 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 better protecting the health of bo ...
from injuries sustained in a 14-round fight against
Ray Mancini
Ray Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961), better 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 commentato ...
, 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 champions
Terence Crawford
Terence Allan Crawford (born September 28, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple quadruple champion#Boxing, world championships in four weight classes, from lightweight to light middleweight, including the undisputed cha ...
Joe Calzaghe
Joseph William Calzaghe ( ; born 23 March 1972) is a Welsh former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified and lineal titles at super-middleweight, and ...
,
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...
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 ...
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
,
Joe Frazier
Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...
,
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 is often considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. ...
,
Sugar Ray Leonard
Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning quintuple c ...
,
Thomas Hearns
Thomas Hearns (born October 18, 1958) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 2006. Nicknamed the "Detroit, Motor City Cobra", and more famously "the Hitman", Hearns's tall, slender build and long arms and shoulders al ...
,
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...
Marvin Hagler
Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight division from 1980 t ...
Roberto Durán
Roberto Carlos Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 1968 to 2001. He held quadruple champion, world championships in four weight classes: Lightweight, welterweight, light middleweigh ...
Nigel Benn
Nigel Gregory Benn (born 22 January 1964), is a former British professional boxer who competed from 1987 to 1996. A two-weight world champion, he held the WBO middleweight title in 1990 and reigned as the WBC super-middleweight champion f ...
,
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...
,
Vitali Klitschko
Vitalii Volodymyrovych Klychko (; ; born 19 July 1971), known as Vitali Klitschko, is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He serves as mayor of Kyiv,Érik Morales,
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 quadruple champion, world titles in fo ...
,
Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. ( ; ; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He previously serv ...
Canelo Álvarez
Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán (; born 18 July 1990), commonly known as Canelo or Saúl Álvarez, is a Mexican professional boxer. He has held multiple quadruple champion#Boxing, world championships in four weight classes, from light middlewe ...
Grigory Drozd
Grigory Anatolyevich Drozd (; born 26 August 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight title from 2014 to 2016,two-thirds majority
A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fund ...
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, Sergio Martínez, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Kostya Tszyu, Manny Pacquiao, Danny García, Érik Morales, Toshiaki Nishioka, Vic Darchinyan, Édgar Sosa and Tony Bellew. This allows the fighters, should they return to competition, to take part in a title bout in the division they have been crowned emeritus champion. 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 estim ...
, 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 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 boxing weight classes, 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 sanct ...
Jackie Nava 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 World Boxing Council, WBC, Women's ...
won the
super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...
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 particul ...
s. Justin Savi was the first boxer to win a Silver title after defeating Cyril Thomas 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 th ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, United States. Other holders of this title have included Mairis Briedis ( cruiserweight), Bernard Hopkins (
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight.
The light heavyweight class has ...
),
Callum Smith
Callum John Smith (born 23 April 1990) is a British professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim light-heavyweight title since February 2025. Previously, he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super versi ...
(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 beg ...
super lightweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
),
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 and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class ...
bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class ...
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, ...
lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing.
Boxing Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
),
Alexander Povetkin
Alexander Vladimirovich Povetkin (; born 2 September 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2021. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) ( Regular version) heavyweight title from 2011 to 2013; the World Boxing ...
(
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
), and Román González (super flyweight). At the WBC convention in December 2012, Muhammad Ali was awarded an honorary WBC Diamond belt. Female Diamond champions have included Claressa Shields (middleweight), Amanda Serrano (super bantamweight), Ana María Torres (bantamweight), Raja Amasheh (
super flyweight
Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a 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 responded to pressure from A ...
flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight.
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...
). 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
Vasiliy Anatolyevich Lomachenko (also spelled Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko; , ; born 17 February 1988) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed between 2013 and 2024. He has held multiple world championships in three weight clas ...
The WBC Eternal Championship is an honorary title awarded to retired boxers that have never lost the WBC world title in the ring 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 World Championship Belts
The WBC also awards commemorative world championship 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 and Jorge Arce (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 2021 — Jermall Charlo (June 19, 2021)
*Teotihuacan — Canelo Álvarez (November 6, 2021)
*Union — Tyson Fury (April 23, 2022)
*Celtic-Boricua — Katie Taylor (April 30, 2022)
*Guerrero Jaguar Zapoteca — Canelo Álvarez (September 17, 2022)
*Elizabethan — Claressa Shields (October 15, 2022)
*Diriyah — Tommy Fury (February 26, 2023)
*Puebla-Jalisco — Canelo Álvarez (May 6, 2023)
*Juneteenth — Floyd Mayweather Jr. (June 11, 2023)
*Puebla — Canelo Alvarez (September 30, 2023)
*Riyadh Champion — Tyson Fury (October 28, 2023)
*Tamaulipas I — Canelo Álvarez (May 4, 2024)
*Undisputed I — Oleksandr Usyk (May 18, 2024)
*Freedom 2024 — Gary Russell Sr. (posthumous) (June 14, 2024)
*Tamaulipas II — Canelo Álvarez (September 14, 2024)
*Rumble in the Jungle — Oleksandr Usyk (December 21, 2024)
*Guerrero Azteca — Isaac Cruz (February 1, 2025)
*Undisputed II — Dmitry Bivol (February 22, 2025)
*Guerrero Xicotencatl — Canelo Álvarez (May 3, 2025)
*Go Grey in May — Naoya Inoue (May 4, 2025)
Trans athletes
In an exclusive interview with ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'' in 2022, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said that the WBC would ban
transgender
A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth.
The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
fighters from competing against
cisgender
The word ''cisgender'' (often shortened to ''cis''; sometimes ''cissexual'') describes a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth, i.e., someone who is not ''transgender''. The prefix '' cis-'' is Latin and ...
fighters "so the dangers of a man fighting a woman will never happen", and would instead introduce a separate trans category of competition wherein athletes would be divided by their gender assigned at birth. Sulaiman called for current fighters who may be trans to come forward and register accordingly.
Controversies
In early 1998, Roy Jones Jr. announced that he was relinquishing his WBC light heavyweight title. In response, the WBC ordered a bout between Graciano Rocchigiani from Germany and the former champion Michael Nunn 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, 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
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...
(i.e., corporate
debt restructuring
Debt restructuring is a process that allows a private or public company or a sovereign entity facing cash flow problems and financial distress to reduce and renegotiate its delinquent debts to improve or restore liquidity so that it can continu ...
) 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 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...
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. The journalist Jack Newfield 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.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
promoter Mickey Duff 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 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
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. (August 9, 1943 – September 18, 2013) was an American actor and professional boxer who competed from 1967 to 1981. He was awarded the World Boxing Council, WBC world heavyweight championship in 1978, after winning a ...
. Norton defended the WBC title against another Don King fighter,
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 is often considered to be one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. ...
, who won the belt.
* In 1983, WBC Super Featherweight Champion Bobby Chacon was signed to fight Cornelius Boza-Edwards, 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 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". The referee, Octavio Meyran, claims in an
affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...
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
Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed championship (boxing), undisputed champion in the cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight division ...
of his title for defending it against
Riddick Bowe
Riddick Lamont Bowe (born August 10, 1967) is an American former professional boxer and professional kickboxer who competed between 1989 and 2008 in boxing, and from 2013 to 2016 in kickboxing (Muay Thai). He held the undisputed world heavyweig ...
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 a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
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 (also Christopher Livingstone Eubank Sr. born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight and super-middlewei ...
, 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 in their WBC welterweight title fight in
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Virtually every ringside observer and boxing analyst had Whitaker winning at least 8 or 9 rounds of the 12-round fight and CompuBox 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 and had not beaten a top contender since losing to
Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...
for the first time in 1996.
* In 2005, the WBC stripped Javier Castillejo of his super welterweight title for fighting Fernando Vargas instead of Ricardo Mayorga, 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.
Flyweight
Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight.
Professional boxing
The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...
Super flyweight
Super flyweight, also referred to as junior bantamweight, is a 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 responded to pressure from A ...
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is .
The name for the class ...
(''118 lbs'')
, align=left, Junto Nakatani
, data-sort-value= , 24 February 2024
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, -
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Super bantamweight
Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a boxing weight classes, 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 sanct ...
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, ...
(''126 lbs'')
, align=left, Stephen Fulton
, data-sort-value= , 1 February 2025
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, -
, data-sort-value=8,
Super featherweight
Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and .
The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...
Lightweight
Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing.
Boxing Professional boxing
The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...
(''135 lbs'')
, align=left, Shakur Stevenson
, data-sort-value= , 16 November 2023
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, -
, align=left, William Zepeda (interim)
, data-sort-value= , 16 November 2024
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, -
,
Super lightweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
(''140 lbs'')
, align="left" , Alberto Puello
, data-sort-value="", 24 June 2024
,
, -
, data-sort-value="11" ,
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 th ...
(''147 lbs'')
, align=left, Mario Barrios
, data-sort-value= , 18 June 2024
,
, -
, rowspan=2 data-sort-value=12, Super welterweight (''154 lbs'')
, align=left, Sebastian Fundora
, data-sort-value= , 30 March 2024
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, -
, align=left, Vergil Ortiz Jr. (interim)
, data-sort-value= , 10 August 2024
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, -
, data-sort-value=13,
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 beg ...
(''160 lbs'')
, align=left, Carlos Adames
, data-sort-value= , 7 May 2024
,
, -
, data-sort-value=14 ,
Super middleweight
Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...
(''168 lbs'')
, align=left,
Canelo Álvarez
Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán (; born 18 July 1990), commonly known as Canelo or Saúl Álvarez, is a Mexican professional boxer. He has held multiple quadruple champion#Boxing, world championships in four weight classes, from light middlewe ...
Light heavyweight
Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing
Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight.
The light heavyweight class has ...
(''175 lbs'')
, align=left,
David Benavidez
Anthony David Benavidez (born December 17, 1996) is an American professional boxer who has held world championships in two weight classes. He has held the World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight title (WBA (Regular), Regular version) si ...
, data-sort-value= , 7 April 2025
,
, -
, data-sort-value=16, Cruiserweight (''190 lbs'')
, align=left, Badou Jack
, data-sort-value= , 11 December 2024
,
, -
, rowspan=2 data-sort-value=17,
Bridgerweight
Bridgerweight, also known as super cruiserweight, is a weight class in professional boxing used by the World Boxing Council (WBC) since 2020 and the World Boxing Association (WBA) since 2023. The division is for boxers weighing between and . The ...
(''224 lbs'')
, align=left,
Kevin Lerena
Kevin Lerena (born 5 May 1992) is a South African professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) bridgerweight title since 2024. Previously, he held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) Cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweig ...
, data-sort-value= , 8 October 2024
,
, -
, align=left, Krzysztof Włodarczyk (interim)
, data-sort-value= , 25 May 2025
,
, -
, rowspan=2 data-sort-value=18,
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...
(''225+ lbs'')
, align=left,
Oleksandr Usyk
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk (, ; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the unified champion (boxing), unified heavyweight championship since 2021, and the ''The Ring (magazine), Ring'' magazine title since 2022 ...
North American Boxing Federation
The North American Boxing Federation (NABF) is a not-for-profit regional sanctioning body that awards regional boxing titles. It is a boxing federation within the World Boxing Council (WBC).
History
The WBC established the NABF in 1969 as part of ...
(NABF)
*
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union (EBU), formerly known as the International Boxing Union (IBU), is a pan-European governing body that sanctions championship bouts in professional boxing. The EBU governs the EBU European Championship, in addition to their ...
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), having been affiliated with them si ...
(ABU)
* WBC Middle East Boxing Council (WBC MEBC)
* United States National Boxing Council (USNBC)
*
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
Boxing Federation (CABOFE)
*
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
n Boxing Federation (FECARBOX)
* CIS and
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
n Boxing Bureau (CISBB)
*
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
List of WBC world champions
This is a list of WBC world champions, showing every world champion certificated by the World Boxing Council (WBC). The WBC is one of the four major governing bodies in professional boxing, and certifies world champions in 18 different weight cla ...
List of current world boxing champions
This is a list of current male world boxing champions. Since at least John L. Sullivan, in the late 19th century, there have been world champions in professional boxing. The first of the current organizations to award a world title was the Wo ...