World Boxing Association
- WBA is also an abbreviation for West Bromwich Albion F.C., an English football team.
World Boxing Association (WBA) is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title, at the professional level.
Origins
The original sanctioning body of professional boxing, the World Boxing Association (WBA) can be traced back to the original National Boxing Association (of the United States), organized in 1921; the first bout recognized by the organization being the Jack Dempsey-Georges Carpentier Heavyweight Championship bout in New Jersey.
The world at the time was recovering from a war, and many athletes had joined the military to defend their colors, so boxing became a way for many to entertain themselves.
Promoter Tex Rickard, an NBA benefactor and the Don King of his day, helped put on some of its title fights, many of which made history.
But Rickard died unexpectedly in 1931 of appendicitis, and the NBA had to rely more on their champions' ability to make themselves household names. By then, the great and legendary Joe Louis was approaching his championship years, and he won the World Heavyweight title in 1937, holding it until 1949, and taking the NBA and boxing through another war. The fact Louis and many other champions joined the war and often came back to the United States to defend their titles made National Boxing Association champions look even more heroic and patriotic.
Boxing became more and more popular with the advent of television during the 1950s, the homecomings of many fighters, and the appearance of many new, young talented fighters.
In 1962 the NBA, faced with world changes after World War II and the Korean War, and with the growth of boxing's popularity world-wide, changed its name officially to WBA, or World Boxing Association.
Competition & Controversies
Through the years, many competitors who also recognized world championship bouts sprung up, and in that line, the WBC started out in 1963, the IBF in 1983, the WBO in 1988, and nearly a dozen others.
In 1982, many WBA world title fights ended in controversy or tragedy. On November 12 of that year, when Aaron Pryor defeated Alexis Arguello for the WBA's world Jr. Welterweight title, a controversial bottle was introduced into Pryor's corner after he had been shaken in round twelve, and the contents of the bottle were never known, but a rematch was ordered by the WBA. The following day, November 13, Ray Mancini defended his WBA world Lightweight title against Duk Koo Kim, who died five days later as a consequence of the blows received during the tragic fight. And on December 10, referee Joey Curtis, affected by Kim's death, abruptly stopped the WBA World Heavyweight championship fight between challenger Michael Dokes and champion Mike Weaver, sixty three seconds into the bout. He said that he had been affected by Kim's death, and an immediate rematch was ordered.
Gilberto Mendoza has been the President of the WBA since 1982. The WBA in the 1990s moved its central offices from Panama City, Panama, to Caracas, Venezuela.
Super Champion
Nowadays the WBA has created a new concept called Super-Champion, something many boxing fans consider to be ridiculous and harmful to the sport's credibility. A WBA Super-Champion is recognized when a boxer holds a WBA title simultaneously with at least one other title (sanctioned by rivals the WBC, IBF, and sometimes the WBO) in the same weight class. Such multiple titleholders are typically called unified champions. When a boxer becomes WBA Super-Champion of his division, he is stripped of its "regular" championship. Next, two contenders are chosen to fight for the vacated (non-Super) WBA belt. While most boxing media continue to recognize the Super-Champion as the division's only "WBA Champion", this new doctrine has proven confusing to many; nonetheless, it has been tolerated by the other leading boxing groups. The WBA's explanation is that the Super designation allows unified champions to have double the time to prepare for title defenses (18 months, instead of the usual 9). The true motive may be greed: By having potentially 2 versions of each weight class' championship, the WBA can double their income (from sanctioning fees : the premium that sanctioning bodies charge promoters for lending their bouts the extra prestige -- and drawing power -- of a "championship" designation)[1].
See also
Other world organizations
Regional Organizations
WBA Affiliated organizations
- FEDELATIN
- Pan Asian Boxing Association (PABA)
- European Boxing Association (EBA)
- North American Boxing Association (NABA)
Transition of WBA titles
- Transition of WBA world title
- Transition of WBA international title
- Transition of WBA Fedecentro title
- Transition of WBA Fedelatin title
- Transition of WBA Pan African title