 |
| World Boxing Organization |
History
The WBO started after a group of Puerto Rican and Dominican businessmen broke out of the World Boxing Association's 1988 annual convention in Isla Margarita, Venezuela over disputes regarding what rules should be applied.
The WBO's first president was Ramon Pina Acevedo of the Dominican Republic. Soon after its beginning, the WBO was staging world championship bouts around the globe. Its first championship fight was for its vacant super middleweight title, between Thomas Hearns and James Kinchen; Hearns won by decision. In order to gain respectability, the WBO next elected former world light heavyweight champion José Torres of Ponce, Puerto Rico, as its president. Torres left in 1996, giving way to Puerto Rican lawyer Francisco Varcarcel as president. Varcarcel has been there since.
The WBO was made popular by boxers such as Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera, Ronald "Winky" Wright, Naseem Hamed, Verno Phillips, Michael Carbajal, Johnny Tapia, Harry Simon, Jermain Taylor, Nigel Benn, Paul "Silky" Jones, Gerald McClellan, Joe Calzaghe, Steve Collins, Daniel Santos, Michael Moorer, Dariusz Michalczewski, Chris Eubank, Riddick Bowe, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Chris Byrd and Tommy Morrison in the 1990s.
Criticism
Initial holder of heavyweight title
The WBO sanctioned a fight between two relatively unknown fighters, Francesco Damiani and Johnny DuPlooy, to determine the initial holder of its heavyweight title in 1989, although all other sanctioning bodies of boxing recognized Mike Tyson as the heavyweight champion at the time. Damiani went on to win the initial WBO heavyweight title.
Minimumweight title declared vacant
On August 23, 1997, WBC minimumweight champion Ricardo López won the WBO minimumweight title by knocking out Puerto Rican fighter Alex Sánchez. After the bout, López told a Mexican newspaper that he wanted to give his newly won championship belt to his father, who is a boxing fan. WBO president Francisco Varcarcel said he viewed that comment as a public resignation and declared the title vacant without holding a hearing or notifying López. The WBO sanctioned a bout between Eric Jamili (10-5-1) and Mickey Cantwell (13-4-1) to fill the vacancy despite protests by López.
Spectator wins World Title
On December 18, 1999, Alejandro Montiel was originally scheduled to fight Jose Lopez for the vacant flyweight crown, but withdrew a few hours before the fight. Isidro Garcia happened to be in attendance as a spectator and was asked to step in while sitting at ringside eating a doughnut. Garcia fought and won the title using borrowed trunks, protective cup and mouthpiece.
Ranking of deceased boxer
The WBO twice moved Darrin Morris up in its super-middleweight rankings in 2001, despite the fact that he was dead. Morris was Number 7 at the time of his death and Number 5 when the WBO discovered the error. Varcarcel said, "We obviously missed the fact that Darrin was dead. It is regrettable." Valcarcel also stated that other boxing sanctioning organizations had made similar errors in the past by continuing to rank another boxer after he was dead. One week after British newspaper The Independent broke the story, one of the three men ranking the boxers, Gordon Volkman, still had not heard that Morris was dead.
Current WBO world title holders
Male
| Weight class: | Title holder: | Reign began: |
|---|---|---|
| Mini flyweight |  Moisés Fuentes | 27 August 2011 |
| Junior flyweight |  Donnie Nietes | 8 October 2011 |
| Flyweight |  Brian Viloria | 16 July 2011 |
| Junior bantamweight |  Omar Narvaez | 15 May 2010 |
| Bantamweight | Jorge Arce | 26 November 2011 |
| Junior featherweight | Vacant | |
| Featherweight | Orlando Salido | 16 April 2011 |
| Junior lightweight | Adrien Broner | 26 November 2011 |
| Lightweight | Juan Manuel Márquez | 28 February 2009 |
| Junior welterweight | Timothy Bradley | 4 April 2009 |
| Welterweight | Manny Pacquiao | 14 November 2009 |
| Junior middleweight |  Zaurbek Baysangurov | 5 October 2011 |
| Middleweight | Dmitry Pirog | July 31, 2010 |
| Super middleweight |  Robert Stieglitz | 22 August 2009 |
| Light heavyweight |  Nathan Cleverly | 19 May 2011 |
| Cruiserweight | Marco Huck | 29 August 2009 |
| Heavyweight |  Wladimir Klitschko | 23 February 2008 |
Female
| Weight class: | Champion: | Date won: |
|---|---|---|
| Strawweight (105 lb.) |  Teeraporn Pannimit | 2 April 2010 |
| Junior flyweight (108 lb.) | Yesica Bopp | 6 November 2009 |
| Flyweight (112 lb.) |  Susi Kentikian | 10 October 2009 |
| Junior bantamweight (115 lb.) | Carolina Duer | 17 December 2010 |
| Bantamweight (118 lb.) | Kaliesha West | 18 September 2010 |
| Junior featherweight (122 lb.) | Ana Julaton | 30 June 2010 |
| Featherweight (126 lb.) |  Jeannine Garside | 3 July 2010 |
| Junior lightweight (130 lb.) | Ramona Kuehne | 4 June 2010 |
| Lightweight (135 lb.) | vacant | |
| Junior welterweight (140 lb.) | Fernanda Alegre | 3 December 2010 |
| Welterweight (147 lb.) |  Cecilia Brækhus | 15 May 2010 |
| Junior middleweight (154 lb.) |  Hanna Gabriel Valle | 29 May 2010 |
| Middleweight (160 lb.) | Christina Hammer | 23 October 2010 |
| Super middleweight (168 lb.) | vacant | |
| Light heavyweight (175 lb.) | vacant | |
| Cruiserweight (200 lb.) | vacant | |
| Heavyweight (200+ lb.) | vacant |