Who governs boxing? There are so many boxing organizations, each with their various abbreviations, that the whole list is often described as an alphabet soup. However, there are four major organizations worth knowing about:

1. World Boxing Association (WBA)

2. World Boxing Federation (WBC)

3. International Boxing Federation (IBF)

4. World Boxing Organization (WBO)

The WBA was originally established as the National Boxing Association (NBA) in 1921, with limited jurisdiction in the United States, and changed its name in 1962 as boxing took on global significance.

The WBC was established in 1963, initially by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, the Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil. However, today it has 161 member countries.

The IBF was established in 1983 when Robert W. Lee Sr, president of the United States Boxing Association (USBA), lost in his bid to become WBA president against Gilberto Mendoza during the WBA's annual convention held in Puerto Rico. Lee and others withdrew from the convention after the election, and organized a third, world-level organization, along the WBA and the WBC.

The WBO was established in 1988 by a group of Puerto Rican and Dominican businessmen who broke out of the WBA's annual convention in Isla Margarita, Venezuela over disputes regarding rules.

Each sanctioning body has 17 weight classes, so a boxer who fully unifies and becomes an undisputed champion is a rare breed indeed. Manny Pacquiao is currently the only boxer to have won titles in eight divisions.

References:

2022. [online] Available at: <https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Alphabet_soup> [Accessed 25 January 2022].

En.wikipedia.org. 2022. List of boxing organisations - Wikipedia. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_boxing_organisations> [Accessed 15 January 2022].

Ibf-usba-boxing.com. 2022. IBF /USBA. [online] Available at: <https://www.ibf-usba-boxing.com/> [Accessed 15 January 2022].

WBO. 2022. home - WBO. [online] Available at: <https://www.wboboxing.com/> [Accessed 15 January 2022].

Wbaboxing.com. 2022. World Boxing Association – WBA Official Site. [online] Available at: <https://www.wbaboxing.com/> [Accessed 15 January 2022].

Wbcboxing.com. 2022. World Boxing Council – Consejo Mundial de Boxeo. [online] Available at: <https://wbcboxing.com/en/> [Accessed 15 January 2022].

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