World Boxing Federation (organization)

The World Boxing Federation was originally established in 1988[2][3] in Northeastern Tennessee[4] by Larry Carrier, who was part owner of Bristol Motor Speedway.[5] It was an expanded version of the American Pro Boxing Association.[6]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.[6][7][8] 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.[9][7] The WBF also sought to promote itself in an honest manner and help the sport.[7] 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.[10][8] The WBF's titles were not initially recognized by the British Boxing Board of Control and had to wait until 1995 to achieve recognition.[11] The company had 17 field offices outside of the US by 1995[12] and the company moved its headquarters to Las Vegas prior to 1998.[13] Larry Carrier sold the WBF to Ron Scalf in June 1998.[14][15] The organization closed in 2004 after losing a lawsuit[16] and was revived in 2009.[1][11][17] In 2022, the promotion announced that they would no longer sanction title fights with boxers with negative records in an effort to raise standards.[18]

The organization has sanctioned matches on 6 of the 7 continents.[19] The organization has three levels of champions including World champions, Intercontinental champions and International champions. The organization also sanctions women's boxing matches.[19] The promotion also monitors its judges closely and feels integrity is its greatest asset.[20]

The promotion also had their own magazine called, "Inside Boxing with the WBF".[4]

As of 10 October 2023 (men):

Weight class:	Champion:	Reign began:
Minimumweight	vacant
Flyweight	vacant
Super flyweight	Gcina Makhoba (SA)	December 3, 2022
Bantamweight	vacant
Super bantamweight	Thato Bonokoane (SA)	October 9, 2022
Featherweight	vacant
Super featherweight	Lunga Stimela (South Africa)	July 9, 2022
Lightweight	vacant
Super lightweight	vacant
Welterweight	Meriton Karaxha (ALB)	November 1, 2019
Super welterweight	vacant
Middleweight	Charles Manyuchi (ZIM)	September 28, 2019
Super middleweight	Travis Hanshaw (USA)	June 29, 2019
Light heavyweight	Shefat Isufi (GER)	April 16, 2022
Cruiserweight	Siril Makiadi (FRA)	December 2, 2022
Heavyweight	vacant

• List of boxing organisations

• Official website