World Boxing Federation
Encyclopedia
The World Boxing Federation (WBF) is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing
world champions. Its offices are located in Luxembourg
.
(USA
) by its founder and inaugural president Larry Carrier, who was popular as the owner of the Bristol International Raceway. In the following year, the WBF held its first championship bouts and Carrier passed on the presidency of the organization to Ron Scalf. In 2005, Carrier, who was successful in a multitude of business enterprises, passed away at the age of 82 after a long illness.
Under Ron Scalf, the WBF grew into a global sanctioning body and held title bouts all over the world. The 90ies was without a doubt a most successful decade for the WBF so far and laid the foundation for its good reputation. In 2003, Scalf resigned as president and the organization faced troubled times, because of a default court judgement against the WBF. While the WBF claims that this was owed to the fact that the attorney hired by the Federation simply did not attend an ordered court hearing, this is not true, as that attorney did appear along with WBF officials in Oakland California, where the Court found that the WBF knew about the proceedings but elected to disregard them. In Tennessee, the WBF and Scalf filed bankruptcies. Scalf received a discharge, but not the WBF, which then altered part of its name (federation became foundation) and moved its assets offshore to England. The Tennessee Chancellor found this fraudulent and statements filed by President Feld to be untrue, and increased the California judgement to a $7,000,000 judgment against the WBF. The Tennessee judgment was then converted to a California judgment in 2009 and the WBF then moved to Australia when process was being served in London.
From 2003 to 2004, Londoner Jonathan Feld tried to rescue the WBF and acted as its president from England
. However, despite huge efforts, he was ultimately not successful and forced to step down when the World Boxing Federation was finally dissolved (without any valid notice to judgment holder Alli, whose judgment remains unpaid, and the transfers of interest serving to defraud judgment creditor Alli.
Scalf then agreed with Australian Mick Croucher to continue the organization under the name “World Boxing Foundation
”, with offices in Melbourne
. After a few successful years, most of the staff to whom the forward process was owed to during this time simultaneously stepped down from their positions with the “Foundation”, when it became clear that no further improvement was possible under Croucher’s presidency.
By the end of 2009, the organization was re-established under its original name World Boxing Federation as a non-profit entity registered in the state of Luxembourg
. South African Howard Goldberg, from Cape Town
, an experienced boxing administrator for many years, assumed the position of president, with former president Ron Scalf lending his support for the first half year in the position as vice president, together with Italian Matteo Fratini.
Boxing
Boxing, 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. Its offices are located in Luxembourg
Luxembourg (city)
The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
.
History
The World Boxing Federation was originally established in early 1988 in Bristol, TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
(USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) by its founder and inaugural president Larry Carrier, who was popular as the owner of the Bristol International Raceway. In the following year, the WBF held its first championship bouts and Carrier passed on the presidency of the organization to Ron Scalf. In 2005, Carrier, who was successful in a multitude of business enterprises, passed away at the age of 82 after a long illness.
Under Ron Scalf, the WBF grew into a global sanctioning body and held title bouts all over the world. The 90ies was without a doubt a most successful decade for the WBF so far and laid the foundation for its good reputation. In 2003, Scalf resigned as president and the organization faced troubled times, because of a default court judgement against the WBF. While the WBF claims that this was owed to the fact that the attorney hired by the Federation simply did not attend an ordered court hearing, this is not true, as that attorney did appear along with WBF officials in Oakland California, where the Court found that the WBF knew about the proceedings but elected to disregard them. In Tennessee, the WBF and Scalf filed bankruptcies. Scalf received a discharge, but not the WBF, which then altered part of its name (federation became foundation) and moved its assets offshore to England. The Tennessee Chancellor found this fraudulent and statements filed by President Feld to be untrue, and increased the California judgement to a $7,000,000 judgment against the WBF. The Tennessee judgment was then converted to a California judgment in 2009 and the WBF then moved to Australia when process was being served in London.
From 2003 to 2004, Londoner Jonathan Feld tried to rescue the WBF and acted as its president from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. However, despite huge efforts, he was ultimately not successful and forced to step down when the World Boxing Federation was finally dissolved (without any valid notice to judgment holder Alli, whose judgment remains unpaid, and the transfers of interest serving to defraud judgment creditor Alli.
Scalf then agreed with Australian Mick Croucher to continue the organization under the name “World Boxing Foundation
World Boxing Foundation
The World Boxing Foundation was formed in 2004 to sanction championship boxing contests but has a history dating back to 1988 via its predecessor the World Boxing Federation...
”, with offices in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. After a few successful years, most of the staff to whom the forward process was owed to during this time simultaneously stepped down from their positions with the “Foundation”, when it became clear that no further improvement was possible under Croucher’s presidency.
By the end of 2009, the organization was re-established under its original name World Boxing Federation as a non-profit entity registered in the state of Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
. South African Howard Goldberg, from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, an experienced boxing administrator for many years, assumed the position of president, with former president Ron Scalf lending his support for the first half year in the position as vice president, together with Italian Matteo Fratini.
Male
| Weight class: | Champion: | Date won: |
|---|---|---|
| Strawweight (105 lbs) | vacant | |
| Light flyweight Light flyweight - Professional boxing :The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds . When New York legalized boxing in 1920, the law stipulated a "junior flyweight" class, with a weight limit of 99 pounds. When the National Boxing Association was formed in 1921, it also recognized this... (108 lbs) |
 Felipe Salguero |
18 December 2010 |
| Flyweight Flyweight Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:... (112 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Super flyweight Super flyweight Super flyweight is a weight division in professional boxing. It is alternatively referred to as junior bantamweight and light bantamweight... (115 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Bantamweight 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 lbs) |
 Lubabalo Msuthu |
22 November 2008 |
| Super bantamweight Super Bantamweight Super bantamweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 122 pounds, or roughly 55.34 kilograms.... (122 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Featherweight 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 lbs) |
Patrick Hyland Patrick Hyland Patrick Hyland, is an Irish professional boxer who fights in the featherweight division.-Debut:Hyland turned professional in September 2004 in the City West Hotel, Dublin, Ireland on an undercard of bill that included Jim Rock and Peter Buckley... |
25 June 2011 |
| Super featherweight Super Featherweight Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms.... (130 lbs) |
Malcolm Klassen Malcolm Klassen Malcolm Klassen is a professional boxer in the junior lightweight division. Known as "Stone", he was a virtual unknown in the boxing world until he challenged and defeated Gairy Saint Clair for IBF world junior-lightweight title on 4 Nov 2006... |
19 November 2011 |
| Lightweight 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 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Light welterweight Light welterweight -Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds... (140 lbs) |
Ali Funeka Ali Funeka Ali Funeka is a South African boxer. Known as "Rush Hour", he is currently trained by former champion Vuyani Bungu. His current record stands at 30 victories, 3 defeats, 3 draws and 25 knockouts.... |
19 November 2011 |
| Welterweight 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 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Light Middleweight Light middleweight Light Middleweight , is a weight division in professional boxing, above 147 pounds and up to 154 pounds .... (154 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Middleweight 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 lbs) |
 Karama Nyilawila |
3 December 2010 |
| Super middleweight 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 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Light heavyweight 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 lbs) |
 Doudou Ngumbu |
26 November 2011 |
| Cruiserweight (200 lbs) |  Ilunga Makabu |
19 November 2011 |
| Heavyweight 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+ lbs) |
 Michael GrantMichael Grant (boxer) Michael Anthony Grant is a professional heavyweight boxer. He is 6' 7" tall, with an 86' reach. A natural born athlete before boxing he blossomed into a three-sport star at Chicago's Harper High School... |
19 November 2011 |
Female
| Weight class: | Champion: | Date won: |
|---|---|---|
| Strawweight (105 lbs) | vacant | |
| Light flyweight Light flyweight - Professional boxing :The weight limit at light flyweight in professional boxing is 108 pounds . When New York legalized boxing in 1920, the law stipulated a "junior flyweight" class, with a weight limit of 99 pounds. When the National Boxing Association was formed in 1921, it also recognized this... (108 lbs) |
 Ju Hee Kim |
12 September 2010 |
| Flyweight Flyweight Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing less than 112 lb but above 108 lb .-Professional boxing:... (112 lbs) |
Irma Sanchez Irma Sánchez Irma Sánchez is a Mexican boxer in the Light Flyweight division and she is the current WBC Silver Female Light Flyweight Champion.-Pro career:... |
23 July 2011 |
| Super flyweight Super flyweight Super flyweight is a weight division in professional boxing. It is alternatively referred to as junior bantamweight and light bantamweight... (115 lbs) |
Nadya Hokmi |
5 June 2010 |
| Bantamweight 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 lbs) |
 Renata Szebeledi |
2 July 2011 |
| Super bantamweight Super Bantamweight Super bantamweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 122 pounds, or roughly 55.34 kilograms.... (122 lbs) |
Unathi Myekeni |
12 September 2010 |
| Featherweight 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 lbs) |
 Oksana Vasilieva |
27 November 2010 |
| Super featherweight Super Featherweight Super featherweight is a weight division in professional boxing. The maximum weight for this division is 130 pounds or 59 kilograms.... (130 lbs) |
 Ramona Kuehne |
4 June 2010 |
| Lightweight 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 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Light welterweight Light welterweight -Professional boxing:The light welterweight class is a weight division in professional boxing that has a limit of 63.5 kg or 140 pounds... (140 lbs) |
Myriam Lamare |
9 December 2009 |
| Welterweight 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 lbs) |
Anne Sophie Mathis |
23 June 2011 |
| Super welterweight (154 lbs) | vacant | |
| Middleweight 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 lbs) |
Christina Hammer |
18 February 2011 |
| Super middleweight 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 lbs) |
Zita Zatyko |
12 November 2011 |
| Light heavyweight 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 lbs) |
vacant | |
| Cruiserweight (200 lbs) | vacant | |
| Heavyweight 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+ lbs) |
Natascha Ragosina Natascha Ragosina Natalia Yurievna Ragozina , better known as Natascha Ragosina, is an undefeated professional boxer currently ranked as the top female super middleweight in the world. Though born in Kazakhstan and currently residing in Germany, she competes professionally for Russia and is of Russian descent... |
19 December 2009 |
Other world organizations
- International Boxing Association
- International Boxing CouncilInternational Boxing CouncilThe International Boxing Council is a boxing organization. The IBC titles are often the beginning for professional boxers who progress to high prestigious titles....
- International Boxing FederationInternational 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 :...
- International Boxing OrganizationInternational Boxing OrganizationThe International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...
- International Boxing UnionInternational Boxing UnionThe International Boxing Union was created June 1911 in Paris, France. It was an attempt to create a unified international governing body for professional boxing...
- World Boxing AssociationWorld 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...
- World Boxing CouncilWorld 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...
- World Professional Boxing FederationWorld Professional Boxing FederationThe World Professional Boxing Federation ' is an international sanctioning body that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championship title...
& United States Boxing CouncilUnited States Boxing CouncilThe United States Boxing Council is a governing body that sanctions regional championships bouts. It is an affiliated organization within the World Professional Boxing Federation .-Current USBC Title Holders:- Other world organizations :... - World Boxing FoundationWorld Boxing FoundationThe World Boxing Foundation was formed in 2004 to sanction championship boxing contests but has a history dating back to 1988 via its predecessor the World Boxing Federation...
- World Boxing OrganizationWorld Boxing OrganizationThe World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
- World Boxing UnionWorld Boxing UnionThe World Boxing Union is a boxing sanctioning body.Until recently it was fully recognised by the British Boxing Board of Control as a legitimate sanctioning body.WBU titles were particularly well recognised in Europe and Africa....