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World champions in professional boxing have been declared since the late 19th century, beginning with John L. Sullivan. Before any sanctioning body was established, many boxers proclaimed themselves as champions. Eventually, champions were recognized through public acclamation, successively establishing a lineage.
Contents
- Championship recognition
- 1884–1910
- Sanctioning organizations: 1910–present
- Title fight wins & beaten opponents — The Ring/lineal champions
- Most opponents beaten in title fights
- Most wins in title fights
- Title fight wins & beaten opponents — all champions
- Most opponents beaten in title fights 2
- Most wins in title fights 2
- Title streaks — The Ring/lineal champions
- Most opponents beaten consecutively in title defenses
- Most consecutive title defenses
- Title streaks — all champions
- Most opponents beaten consecutively in title defenses 2
- Most consecutive title defenses 2
- Longest individual title reigns
- Title reigns of The Ring/lineal champions
- Title reigns of all champions
- See also
- References
- External links
The 1920 Walker Law established the New York State Athletic Commission which recognized champions from its foundation. [1] The National Boxing Association (NBA) was founded by other U.S. state bodies in 1921. [1] Until the 1960s, both usually recognised the same lineal champion. [2] However, disputes could arise if the champion retired or moved to a different weight class. Occasionally, the International Boxing Union (later the European Boxing Union) recognised a different champion. The disputes were usually short-lived as a lucrative fight would be organised between the rival champions.
The growing popularity of boxing outside of the USA led to creation of various boxing organizations, each strengthening their influence (most notably BBBofC) and having their own champion. This resulted in a growing number of boxers with claim to be world champion. In August 1962, the NBA officially became the World Boxing Association and moved their headquarters to Panama City, Panama. A year later NYSAC along with European Boxing Union and BBBofC supported creation of the World Boxing Council. In April 1983, members of United States Boxing Association along with Robert W. Lee (a former WBA vice-president) voted to expand the organisation and form the USBA-International. The organization later changed the name to International Boxing Federation. [3] The inaugural IBF Heavyweight Champion was Larry Holmes, who relinquished the WBC title to accept IBF's recognition, thus helping the newly formed organization to establish its legitimacy. [4] Another major sanctioning body, the World Boxing Organisation, was established in 1988 in San Juan, Puerto Rico by a group of local businessmen. At the beginnings, when most of the challengers for WBA, WBC and IBF titles were Americans, WBO had a wider variety of countries, mainly United Kingdom, represented in title bouts. As of 2018, WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA are all recognized as major boxing organizations by each other and the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
