The World Boxing Association (WBA) is one of the four major organizations that sanction world championship boxing fights. The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. Alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO), it is one of four major organizations which sanctions professional boxing bouts.
It is the oldest out of the other four organizations. It was formed in 1921, in Rhode Island by thirteen state representatives and at that time it was named the National Boxing Association (NBA). In 1962, it changed its name in recognition of boxing's growing popularity around the world and began to admit other nations as members. By 1975, a majority of its members were Latin American nations and the organization headquarters was moved to Panama City, Panama.
Here's an overview of the WBA, its history, and recent developments, including the controversial ranking of Jake Paul.
History of the WBA
The WBA can be traced back to the original National Boxing Association, organized in 1921. The NBA was formed by representatives from 13 American states, including Sam Milner, to counterbalance the influence that the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) wielded.
Initially, the NBA published challenger lists and sanctioned title bouts but did not try to impose its will on championship fights or collect sanctioning fees. Originally more comparable to the present American Association of Boxing Commissions than to its offspring and successor, the NBA sanctioned title bouts, published lists of outstanding challengers, withdrew titular recognition, but did not attempt to appoint its own title bout officials or otherwise impose its will on championship fights.
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With boxing becoming a global sport through the mid part of the 20th century, there was the growing need for a worldwide organization to represent the sport. With this need in mind, on August 23, 1962, the NBA changed its name to the WBA. This rebranding marked the beginning of other nations local organizations becoming associated with the WBA.
By 1975 most of the country members were actually from Latin America, a connection that still holds true today. That same year the organization relocated its headquarters to Panama. After another relocation, this time to Caracas, Venezuela that lasted from the 1990s to the early 2000s.
At the beginning of its existence, the WBA was led exclusively by 43 North American presidents, up to 1974. Two years after the name change in 1964, the first Latin American member of the WBA Executive Committee, doctor Elias Cordova from Panama, was promoted to the committee. Ten years after, doctor Cordova became the first Latin American president in the history of the WBA. Since 1974, all presidents that have held post have been Latin Americans.
During the annual convention in 1982 held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in a 41 to 32 vote win against Bob Lee who was then commissioner of the New Jersey Athletic Commission, Venezuelan Gilberto Mendoza was named the president of the WBA. He became the longest-serving president in the history of WBA, finally retiring in December 2015 due to ill health. After his retirement, the WBA unanimously selected him as President Emeritus of the WBA.
The NBA officially became the WBA on 23 August 1962. Gilberto Mendoza was the President of the WBA from 1982 until his death in 2016, after which Gilberto Mendoza Jr. took over as president.
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The WBA is closely cooperating with regional organizations on multiple continents. The WBA awards its champions in all divisions their recognizable black belt. The WBA recognizes title holders from the other three major organizations, as do all of them recognize the WBA belt.
Often division will have ‘Regular’ champion, and the other is the ‘Super’ champion. If a fighter that holds the WBA title, also wins a belt from some of the other three major sanctioning bodies, he or she is then promoted to WBA ‘Super’ champion. This is why official WBA rankings lists will sometimes show for example ‘WBA Super World Heavyweight Champion’ and a ‘WBA World Heavyweight Champion’ for the heavyweight division, or the same format for any of the other divisions. A fighter will also be promoted to WBA ‘Super’ champion for having multiple title defenses.
The WBA along with the other three sanctioning bodies also recognizes ‘interim’ titles. They introduced the concept during a meeting of their Executive Committee in April 1998. The WBA decided that in this situation, two highly ranked contenders would fight for the interim title. The winner of the bout, or the interim titleholder, would then become the mandatory challenger for the original world champion when he or she returned to the ring.
The WBA also recognizes fighters as ‘Unified Champion’ or ‘Undisputed Champion,’ even in situations when the WBA belt is not one of the titles held by the fighter.
The regional federations affiliated with the WBA may send its Committee information concerning the fights held under their jurisdictions for boxers rated by the WBA, as well as other relevant records for fighters eligible for future ratings.
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In the 1990s, the WBA moved its central offices from Panama City, Panama, to Caracas, Venezuela.
WBA Super Champion Designation
The most prominent designation is that of the WBA Super champion, which was created in 2000 following a suggestion by Lennox Lewis after he was forced to relinquish his WBA heavyweight title prior to his defense against Michael Grant.
This distinction was initially reserved for WBA champions who are simultaneously recognized by the WBC, IBF or WBO. A WBA Super champion is afforded special consideration by the organization with respect to meeting mandatory defense obligations to maintain championship recognition, but it also has opened the door for the organization to recognize a separate world champion, commonly referred to as the Regular champion; creating confusion among fans as to who holds the de facto championship title.
Some world champions have been upgraded to WBA Super champion status without winning another organization's title, among them Floyd Mayweather Jr., Chris John, Anselmo Moreno and Manny Pacquiao; or upon defending their WBA title five or more times.
Upon awarding a WBA Super championship, the regular world champion status is deemed vacant, whereupon it is filled by the organization as a separate championship. The WBA further complicated this from time to time by recognizing an interim champion, ostensibly in cases where a designated world champion is, for some reason, prohibited from making a timely defense of their title.
Under such conditions, the interim title holder is to be the next person to compete for one of the full championship titles once the champion is in a position to compete. In practice, however, this actually occurred rarely if ever and in 2019 the organization began awarding the WBA Gold title, for which no provision exists even within the organization's own governing documents.
There have even been instances where different WBA World Champions have defended versions of the same title, in the same weight class, on the same date, and even within the same event.
Following the controversial decision in the Gabriel Maestre vs. Mykal Fox fight on August 7, 2021, amid immense public pressure, the WBA finally began eliminating all interim titles in the attempt to return to a single champion per weight division.
The organization has further garnered negative attention with respect to its ranking of boxers, in spite of having adopted a complex, documented rating formula in the 2000s. In 2015 for example, Ali Raymi had been rated number six when, in his service as a colonel in the Yemeni armed forces, he was killed.
In August 2021, a letter sent by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) stated that the WBA having multiple titles was "misleading to the public and the boxers".
Recent WBA Title Decisions
Several title decisions and eliminations have been made across different weight classes:
- Flyweight: Artem Dalakian was left as sole champion after the removal of Interim champions.
- Super Bantamweight: Brandon Figueroa was stripped of his Regular title on December 2, 2021, after facing Stephen Fulton in a WBC and WBO unification. This left Super champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev as sole champion.
- Super Featherweight: Gervonta Davis vacated his Super title on August 28, 2021, leaving then Regular champion Roger Gutiérrez as the sole champion.
- Super Lightweight: Gervonta Davis vacated his Regular title on December 8, 2021, leaving then Super champion Josh Taylor as sole champion.
- Welterweight: The WBA ordered a 4-man box off on September 16, 2021, to determine one champion.
- Middleweight: Super champion Gennady Golovkin was ordered to face Regular champion Erislandy Lara on September 23, 2022. On March 9, 2023, Golovkin vacated the Super title, leaving Lara as sole champion.
- Super Middleweight: Regular champion David Morrell opted to vacate his title on August 31, 2024.
- Light Heavyweight: Super champion Dmitry Bivol became sole champion after the removal of Interim champions.
In January 2024, the WBA once again began to sanction fights for the Interim and Regular titles in weight divisions which already had a sole WBA champion.
Since 2015, the WBA awards a customized version of their WBA Super champion belt to big fights involving a WBA championship. The WBA called this the Man of Triumph belt, named after the trophy awarded to the winner of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight.
Jake Paul's Entry into WBA Cruiserweight Rankings
Jake Paul has entered the World Boxing Association’s cruiserweight rankings, making the YouTuber-turned-boxer eligible to fight for a world title. The WBA slotted Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) at No. 14 in the latest edition of its rankings late Monday night, two days after Paul beat 39-year-old Julio César Chávez Jr by unanimous decision in Anaheim, California.
The WBA’s decision to rank Paul likely means the sanctioning body would allow him to fight WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramírez, who won his latest title defense in the penultimate bout in Anaheim. The fighters have not agreed to a deal, but Paul and Ramírez stared each other down during the post-fight news conference.
Paul reiterated Saturday night that he has been ordered by God to become a world champion, and he spoke of several accomplished veteran boxers as his potential next opponent.
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While Paul’s ranking is a remarkable milestone for a social media behemoth and former Disney Channel star who only decided to become a boxer about six years ago, the WBA’s decision reflects Paul’s incredible financial potential more than his fighting résumé.
Sanctioning body rankings are determined internally, so they can be changed on a whim, or to meet an opportunity to collect a big fee by sanctioning a fight - and Paul has uniquely become the most financially potent boxer to emerge in many years.
Paul’s previous opponents include fellow YouTubers, an NBA player, several mixed martial artists and 58-year-old Mike Tyson - not a path that would lead to world rankings and title shots for any fighter without Paul’s fame and fortune. He took his only loss in 2023 against Tommy Fury - a relatively serious professional boxer, but nowhere near a title contender. Paul has called for a rematch, telling Fury to “stop running from me”.
Chávez was by far the most accomplished actual boxer to share the ring with Paul, but the former WBC middleweight champion fought listlessly and tepidly for all but the final two rounds in front of a Southern California crowd desperately rooting on its Mexican hero.
Potential Future Opponents
Ramírez (48-1, 30 KOs) would be Paul’s first step up to world-class opposition. Zurdo is a former super middleweight champion and current cruiserweight powerhouse who beat Yuniel Dorticos by decision in Anaheim.
Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s business partner, suggested Saturday night that Paul might be more likely to take a title shot against Badou Jack, the 41-year-old Swede who holds the WBC cruiserweight belt.
“The biggest issue with that [Paul v Ramírez] fight is Zurdo didn’t show himself to be at all a promoter in this process,” Bidarian said. “Why aren’t we seeing more out of Zurdo? Why isn’t he more engaged with the fans?
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