The
World Boxing Organization (
WBO) is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional
boxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the
International Boxing FederationThe International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
, the
World Boxing CouncilThe World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
and the
World Boxing AssociationThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
WBO offices are located in
San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
.
History
The WBO started after a group of
Puerto RicanPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and
DominicanThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
businessmen broke out of the
World Boxing AssociationThe World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
's 1988 annual convention in
Isla MargaritaMargarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...
,
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
over disputes regarding what rules should be applied.
The WBO's first president was Ramon Pina Acevedo of the
Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. Soon after its beginning, the WBO was staging world championship bouts around the globe. Its first championship fight was for its vacant
super middleweightSuper Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
title, between
Thomas HearnsThomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions...
and James Kinchen; Hearns won by decision. In order to gain respectability, the WBO next elected former world light heavyweight champion
José TorresJosé Torres , was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he defeated Willie Pastrano to win the WBC and WBA light heavyweight championships...
of
Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, as its president. Torres left in 1996, giving way to Puerto Rican lawyer
Francisco VarcarcelFrancisco Valcarcel is a Puerto Rican lawyer who is also president of the World Boxing Organization.-Brief biography:Valcarcel grew in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, he studied law at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in Río Piedras, graduating with honors.He began private practice in an office...
as president. Varcarcel has been there since.
The WBO was made popular by boxers such as
Manny PacquiaoEmmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
,
Oscar De La HoyaOscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
,
Marco Antonio BarreraMarco Antonio Barrera Tapia is a Mexicanprofessional boxer. He has won numerous world titles in three different weight classes; he is a former two-time WBO super bantamweight , WBC, Lineal, & The Ring featherweight , and WBC & IBF super featherweight champion...
, Ronald "Winky" Wright,
Naseem HamedNaseem Hamed is an English former professional boxer.He is the former WBO, WBC, IBF, & Lineal featherweight champion, and European bantamweight champion....
,
Verno PhillipsVerno Jeremias Phillips , is a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.- Career :Phillips turned pro in 1988 and captured the Vacant WBO Light Middleweight Title in 1993 with a win over Lupe Aquino...
,
Michael Carbajal,
Johnny TapiaJohn Lee "Johnny" Tapia is a Mexican-American five-time world boxing champion.-Childhood:Johnny Tapia's life began with tragedy. His father had reportedly been murdered while his mother was pregnant with him. At the age of 8, his mother Virginia was kidnapped, raped, hung, repeatedly stabbed, and...
,
Harry SimonHarry Simon is a professional boxer in the super welterweight division.- Amateur Highlights :As an amateur Simon represented Namibia as a welterweight at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain...
,
Jermain TaylorJermain Taylor is an American professional boxer and former undisputed middleweight champion. He made his professional boxing debut in 2001 and won his first 25 bouts, which included victories over former champions Raúl Márquez and William Joppy...
,
Nigel BennNigel Benn , known as "The Dark Destroyer", is a British former boxer who held world titles in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions....
, Paul "Silky" Jones,
Gerald McClellanGerald McClellan is a former boxer from the United States of America, who was the WBO and WBC middleweight champion. McClellan's record as a professional boxer was 31 wins and 3 losses with 29 wins by knockout...
,
Joe CalzagheJoseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....
,
Steve CollinsStephen Collins, more commonly known as Steve Collins, is a former professional boxer. Known as the "The Celtic Warrior", Collins is the former WBO middleweight and super middleweight champion....
,
Daniel SantosDaniel Santos is a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur Santos represented Puerto Rico in international events, including the 1990 and 1992 Junior World Championships, Pan American Boxing Tournament, Goodwill Games, 1995 Pan American Games and the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he won a...
,
Michael MoorerMichael Lee Moorer is a retired American boxer who is a former light heavyweight and heavyweight World Champion.-Biography:Moorer is a native of Monessen, Pennsylvania, which is in Southwestern Pennsylvania.-Professional career:...
,
Dariusz MichalczewskiDariusz Michalczewski is a retired Polish- German boxer and former Lineal, WBO, WBA, & IBF light heavyweight champion and WBO cruiserweight champion.-Early career:...
,
Chris EubankChris Eubank, Lord of the Manor of Brighton is a retired British boxer who held world titles at middleweight and super middleweight...
,
Riddick BoweRiddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
,
Vitali KlitschkoVitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
,
Wladimir KlitschkoWladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
and
Chris ByrdChris Cornelius Byrd is a retired and former professional boxer. He is the former WBO and IBF heavyweight champion. His nickname is "Rapid Fire".- Early life :...
in the 1990s.
Initial holder of heavyweight title
The WBO sanctioned a fight between two relatively unknown fighters,
Francesco DamianiFrancesco Damiani is an Italian former boxer who won the silver medal at the 1982 World Championships and at the 1984 Summer Olympics. As a professional, he was the first WBO heavyweight champion.-Amateur:...
and
Johnny DuPlooy- Boxing career :The tall 6`3 South African boxer started his career in 1985 and beat 17 opponents. He then was stopped cold after losing to ex-champ Mike Weaver by 7th round KO...
, to determine the initial holder of its heavyweight title in 1989, although all other sanctioning bodies of boxing recognized
Mike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
as the heavyweight champion at the time. Damiani went on to win the initial WBO heavyweight title.
Minimumweight title declared vacant
On August 23, 1997, WBC
minimumweightMinimumweight is a weight class division in combat sports. The most notable of which is in professional boxing where boxers may weigh no more than . This is a relatively new weight category for professionals, first inaugurated by the major boxing sanctioning bodies between 1987 and 1990...
champion Ricardo López won the WBO minimumweight title by knocking out Puerto Rican fighter
Alex SánchezAlex "El Nene" Sánchez is a retired Puerto Rican professional boxer.-Boxing career:Sánchez began his professional boxing career on October 4, 1991, knocking out Carlos Figueroa in round one at Mayagüez, Puerto Rico....
. After the bout, López told a Mexican newspaper that he wanted to give his newly won championship belt to his father, who is a boxing fan. WBO president
Francisco VarcarcelFrancisco Valcarcel is a Puerto Rican lawyer who is also president of the World Boxing Organization.-Brief biography:Valcarcel grew in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, he studied law at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law in Río Piedras, graduating with honors.He began private practice in an office...
said he viewed that comment as a public resignation and declared the title vacant without holding a hearing or notifying López. The WBO sanctioned a bout between Eric Jamili (10-5-1) and Mickey Cantwell (13-4-1) to fill the vacancy despite protests by López.
Spectator wins World Title
On December 18, 1999, Alejandro Montiel was originally scheduled to fight
Jose LopezJosé "Carita" López is a Puerto Rican professional boxer who has competed in the flyweight and super flyweight divisions. His first professional championship was the Puerto Rican flyweight title, which won by defeating José Luis De Jesús...
for the vacant flyweight crown, but withdrew a few hours before the fight.
Isidro GarciaIsidro Ayala García is a former Mexican boxer in the Featherweight division. He is the former WBO Flyweight Champion.-Professional career:...
happened to be in attendance as a spectator and was asked to step in while sitting at ringside eating a doughnut. Garcia fought and won the title using borrowed trunks, protective cup and mouthpiece.
Ranking of deceased boxer
The WBO twice moved
Darrin MorrisDarrin Morris was an American super middleweight boxer, nicknamed "The Mongoose".Morris was born in Detroit and died in West Palm Beach...
up in its super-middleweight rankings in 2001, despite the fact that he was dead. Morris was Number 7 at the time of his death and Number 5 when the WBO discovered the error. Varcarcel said, "We obviously missed the fact that Darrin was dead. It is regrettable." Valcarcel also stated that other boxing sanctioning organizations had made similar errors in the past by continuing to rank another boxer after he was dead. One week after British newspaper
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
broke the story, one of the three men ranking the boxers, Gordon Volkman, still had not heard that Morris was dead.
Male
| Weight class: |
Title holder: |
Reign began: |
| Mini flyweight |
 Moisés FuentesMoisés Fuentes Rubio is a Mexican professional boxer in the strawweight division and is the current World Boxing Organization strawweight champion.-Professional career:...
|
27 August 2011 |
| Junior flyweight |
 Donnie NietesDonnie Nietes is a Filipino professional boxer and the WBO Light Flyweight World Champion. He is also a former WBO Minimumweight World Champion. His cousin, Gerson Nietes, is also a boxer....
|
8 October 2011 |
| Flyweight Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:...
|
 Brian ViloriaBrian Viloria is a Filipino-American professional boxer He is the reigning WBO Flyweight champion. He also won the WBC Light Flyweight and IBF Junior Flyweight titles...
|
16 July 2011 |
| Junior bantamweight |
 Omar Narvaez |
15 May 2010 |
| Bantamweight Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
|
Jorge ArceJorge Armando Arce Armenta is a Mexican professional boxer. Arce is the former WBO World Light Flyweight, WBC World Light Flyweight, Interim WBC World Flyweight, Interim WBA World Super Flyweight, WBO World Super Flyweight, WBO World Super Bantamweight, and is the current WBO World Bantamweight...
|
26 November 2011 |
| Junior featherweight |
Vacant |
|
| Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
|
Orlando Salido Orlando Salido Rivera is a Mexican professional boxer. Salido is the current WBO Featherweight Champion and the former IBF Featherweight Champion. Eight of his losses happened between the ages of 15 and 21....
|
16 April 2011 |
| Junior lightweight |
Adrien Broner Adrien Broner is an American Junior Lightweight boxer, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Adrien has been featured in the top ten of the Ring Magazine rankings for the Junior Lightweight division.-Professional career:2008...
|
26 November 2011 |
| Lightweight Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
|
Juan Manuel MárquezJuan Manuel Márquez Méndez , is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the fourth Mexican-born boxer to become a three-division world champion, where he won eight world titles in three different boxing weight classes.Currently, Marquez is the WBA Super, WBO and The Ring lightweight champion...
|
28 February 2009 |
| Junior welterweight |
Timothy Bradley Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. is an American boxer, fighting out of Palm Springs, California. He is the current WBO World Light Welterweight Champion. He is rated #2 in the Light Welterweight division behind Amir Khan.-Light Welterweight:...
|
4 April 2009 |
| Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
|
Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
|
14 November 2009 |
| Junior middleweight |
 Zaurbek BaysangurovZaurbek Baysangurov is a chechen boxer and the current interim WBO Light Middleweight Champion.-Amateur:...
|
5 October 2011 |
| Middleweight Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
|
Dmitry Pirog Dmitry Pirog is a Russian boxer in the Middleweight division and the current WBO Middleweight Champion.-Amateur career:Dmitry used to be a chess player and wasn’t getting enough activity, so he decided to start boxing...
|
July 31, 2010 |
| Super middleweight Super Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
|
 Robert StieglitzRobert Stieglitz is a German boxer and the current WBO Super Middleweight world champion...
|
22 August 2009 |
| Light heavyweight In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
|
 Nathan CleverlyNathan Cleverly is a British professional boxer from Wales and current WBO light heavyweight world champion. He is also the former European, British and Commonwealth light heavyweight champion...
|
19 May 2011 |
| Cruiserweight |
Marco Huck Marco Huck is a German professional boxer of Bosniak origin. He is the current WBO Cruiserweight Champion.Marco started Taekwando and kickboxing at the age of ten...
|
29 August 2009 |
| Heavyweight Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
|
 Wladimir KlitschkoWladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
|
23 February 2008 |
Female
| Weight class: |
Champion: |
Date won: |
| Strawweight (105 lb.) |
 Teeraporn Pannimit |
2 April 2010 |
| Junior flyweight (108 lb.) |
Yesica Bopp Yesica Yolanda Bopp, born April 11, 1984 in Villa Domínico is women's boxing champion in the light flyweight division. Nicknamed "Tuti," Bopp stands 5'0" tall and has a perfect professional record of 18-0....
|
6 November 2009 |
| Flyweight Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:...
(112 lb.) |
Susi Kentikian |
10 October 2009 |
| Junior bantamweight (115 lb.) |
Carolina Duer |
17 December 2010 |
| Bantamweight Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
(118 lb.) |
Kaliesha West Kaliesha West is a professional female boxer and the current WBO Female Bantamweight Boxing Champion. She was born on February 11, 1988, in South Haven, Michigan. West currently resides in Moreno Valley California, a small suburb between Riverside and Palm Springs. On September 18, 2010, West won...
|
18 September 2010 |
| Junior featherweight (122 lb.) |
Ana Julaton Ana Julaton is the first Filipino American boxer to win the Women's WBO Super Bantamweight and IBA Super Bantamweight titles. Nicknamed “The Hurricane,” she is also one of the “quickest” boxers ever to win a world title, having fought only five other professional bouts before winning the IBA Super...
|
30 June 2010 |
| Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
(126 lb.) |
 Jeannine GarsideJeannine Garside is a Canadian rising star in the sport of women's boxing. After a long and distinguished amateur career, Garside has made her presence felt as a professional, winning the WIBA Super Bantamweight World Title in just her 4th pro bout...
|
3 July 2010 |
| Junior lightweight (130 lb.) |
Ramona Kuehne |
4 June 2010 |
| Lightweight Light-weight is a class of athletes in a particular sport, based on their weight.-Professional boxing:The lightweight division is over 130 pounds and up to 135 pounds weight class in the sport of boxing....
(135 lb.) |
vacant |
|
| Junior welterweight (140 lb.) |
Fernanda Alegre |
3 December 2010 |
| Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...
(147 lb.) |
 Cecilia BrækhusCecilia Brækhus is a and , professional Norwegian boxer and a former kickboxer. She is currently the World Champion in Welterweight in the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, World Boxing Organization and World Professional Boxing Federation...
|
15 May 2010 |
| Junior middleweight (154 lb.) |
 Hanna Gabriel ValleHanna Gabriel Valle is a Costa Rican boxer, junior middleweight category, which has been highlighted by several international victories....
|
29 May 2010 |
| Middleweight Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...
(160 lb.) |
Christina Hammer |
23 October 2010 |
| Super middleweight Super Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...
(168 lb.) |
vacant |
|
| Light heavyweight In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
(175 lb.) |
vacant |
|
| Cruiserweight (200 lb.) |
vacant |
|
| Heavyweight Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
(200+ lb.) |
vacant |
|
WBO affiliated organizations
- North American Boxing Organization
The North American Boxing Organization is one of several regulators of boxing that works in North America. The NABO is one of the regional bodies that is part of the World Boxing Organization.Legendary Roy Jones Jr is former Light heavyweight champion....
(NABO)
- WBO LATINO (LATINO)
- WBO Asia-Pacific
Transition of WBO titles
Other boxing organizations
International Boxing Hall of Fame recognized:
- International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
(IBF)
- World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
(WBA)
- World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
(WBC)
Other organizations
- International Boxing Association (IBA)
- International Boxing Organization
The International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...
(IBO)
- World Professional Boxing Federation
The World Professional Boxing Federation ' is an international sanctioning body that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championship title...
(WPBF)
External links