[BigBadSi]

Ive always watched boxing but never understood the title,WBA,WBO,IBF whats what,what is more prestigeous???

[ferocious]

i think WBA was the original but many consider WBC to be the most prestigious , if i was a boxer & wanted to be unified champ i would want WBA/WBC/IBF belts... WBO is becoming more popular these days & was brought to attention by benn/eubank/watson ...

[BigBadSi]

in what way are the different/divisions etc different class of fighter ??

[ferocious]

different organisations that's all no weight or class difference , only thing is when you get a couple of them they have different rankings so keeping them can be difficult i.e their no1 contenders for your belts might be different so more chance of getting stripped of the title

WBC was always the most prestigous in this country as the WBA wasn't recognised by the BBBofC.

[mack]

This was on Wikipedia or whatewer it's called...it was way easier before 1963 to keep track of things...

In the first part of the 20th century, the United States became the centre for professional boxing. It was generally accepted that the "world champions" were those listed by the Police Gazette. After 1920, the National Boxing Association (N.B.A.) and the New York State Athletic Commission (N.Y.S.A.C.) began to sanction "title-fights". The N.B.A. was renamed in 1962 and became the World Boxing Association (W.B.A.). The following year, a rival body, the World Boxing Council (W.B.C.), was formed. The influence, internationally, of the N.Y.S.A.C. declined. In 1983, another world body, the International Boxing Federation (I.B.F.) was formed, and in 1989, this was followed by yet another, the World Boxing Organisation (W.B.O.). Each body sanctions its own title-fights and recognizes its own "champions". By the end of the 20th century, a boxer had to be recognized by four separate bodies to be the "undisputed champion" of the world, and each year saw over 100 "title-fights" take place in up to seventeen weight divisions.

[mack]

Another big change is that in 1962 there was only one boxing body and only 8 weight classes, now it's like what?... 4 or 5 different organizations and each with their own champ and 17 weight classes.

[irishmic]

As Mack once again researched the facts, It is so damn confusing, all these title organizations. I think the RING Ratings are the most authentic. Each organization seems to have their own sanctioned champion. I think Don King used to (behind the scenes) control the WBC by paying off Jose Sulaiman (SP) I remember something about this years ago. Also think George foreman in his last comeback fought a championship fight for the IBF? title. The wbc was formed in 1963, The WBA in 1962 after prior title of NBA formed in 1921. if my memory or research is wrong, sincerely apologize,
anyone know what title Muhammad Ali won over Liston, and who the hell was the last unified champion in Heavy weight class, Lennox, Tyson? anyone know?

[smullenpe]

The boxing used to be a men's sports. Then a guy like Mike Tyson turned the boxing into a joke. We boxed during PE classes and every men needs to box once in their lives to appreciate the work that's involved.

Mic, my last recollection is that Lennox unified the heavy weight champion but I maybe wrong. I don't watch boxing much anymore since it has lost lack luster it once had.