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"It's a joke. I know it's a
joke, you know it's a joke, the
fans know it's a joke,"
commented promotional legend Bob
Arum famously, when a
sanctioning body once introduced
a rather silly concept called
“Silver Titles”.
But while jokes are a subject of
amusement, the on-going increase
of meaningless belts,
spearheaded by a group commonly
referred to as “Big4”, has long
lost any fun factor to serious
fans. The latest of those stupid
creations is a so-called “Global
Title”. The mind boggles. There
seems no end.
The truth is that the
proliferation of new,
meaningless and ridiculous belts
being introduced, at a rapid
rate, is simply to generate
income and earnings.
Unless, that is, when it comes
to the World Boxing Federation
(WBF) – the ONLY boxing
organization on the planet,
which voluntarily restricts
their titles!
We want them to have a meaning.
We are not prepared, not now and
not ever, to simply create a
“title” because we do not have a
vacant title for a promoter. We
rather let other organizations
belittle their integrity with
superficial titles.
“Yes,
that’s true,” confirms WBF
President Howard Goldberg, “we
are now at the stage where more
and more promoters turn to us
and vacancies become less and
less, but still it has never
entered our minds to create
superficial titles. To us, to
create more and more titles
shows how little respect there
truly is for the sport.”
Goldberg, from South Africa and
WBF president since 2009, is
proven correct by the numbers:
The World Boxing Federation is
celebrating its most successful
year so far, because 2018 set a
new record in terms of number of
WBF championship bouts per annum
– establishing itself as the 5th
most-busy sanctioning body
around. The statistics, indeed,
make for impressive reading,
especially in light of the
remarkable self-restriction on
titles that the WBF exercises.
In short:
- A total of 85 WBF championship
bouts worldwide in 2018,
surpassing the previous per
annum record of 78 (in 2013).
- A total of 26 WBF
championships bouts in Africa in
2018, a new per annum record for
that continent.
- A total of 19 WBF championship
bouts in Latin America (which
includes Mexico) in 2018, a new
per annum record for that
region.
- A total of 570 WBF
championship bouts the world
over since the true original
World Boxing Federation
re-emerged in 2009.
- Worldwide WBF activity in 57
countries in all continents (bar
Antarctica) since 2009.
In summary: The World Boxing
Federation is an on-going
success story over the last 10
years and edging closer to
creating a new term in boxing,
namely the “Big FIVE”!
Gratitude goes, most of all, to
all the boxers who proudly hold
or held the trademark blue WBF
championship belt over the
years. We will continue to grow,
and grow with integrity,
transparency and complete
professionalism. Characteristics
not always seen by others
involved in boxing.
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