The World Boxing Federation (WBF) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It was created in 1988.[1]
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The World Boxing Federation was originally established in 1988 by Larry Carrier, who was part owner of Bristol Motor Speedway in northeastern Tennessee.[2][3][4][5] It was an expanded version of the American Pro Boxing Association.[6] The original concept for the WBF was written on the back of a napkin as an alternative for boxing as Carrier felt there was a lack of vision in boxing.[6][7][8] The WBF wanted to give overlooked fighters a chance and wanted to be a more affordable sanctioning body for aspiring promoters by only charging a $5,000 sanctioning fee.[9][7] The WBF also sought to promote itself in an honest manner and help the sport.[7] The promotion signed their first title fight in November 1990, when they organized a cruiserweight bout between Rickey Patkey and Joe Louis for December 7, 1990.[10][8] The WBF's titles were not initially recognized by the British Boxing Board of Control and had to wait until 1995 to achieve recognition.[11] The company had 17 field offices outside of the US by 1995[12] and the company moved its headquarters to Las Vegas prior to 1998.[13] Larry Carrier sold the WBF to Ron Scalf in June 1998.[14][15] The organization closed in 2004 after losing a lawsuit[16] and was revived in 2009.[1][11][17] In 2022, the promotion announced that they would no longer sanction title fights with boxers with negative records in an effort to raise standards.[18]
The organization has sanctioned matches on 6 of the 7 continents.[19] The organization has three levels of champions including World champions, Intercontinental champions and International champions. The organization also sanctions women's boxing matches.[19] The promotion also monitors its judges closely and feels integrity is its greatest asset.[20]
The promotion also had their own magazine called, "Inside Boxing with the WBF".[4]
