Sanctioning organization for professional boxing bouts
International Boxing Organization |
| Abbreviation | IBO |
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| Formation | 1988; 36 years ago (1988) |
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| Type | Private |
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| Purpose | Boxing sanctioning organization |
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| Headquarters | Coral Gables, Florida, U.S. |
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Region served | Worldwide |
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President | Ed Levine |
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Main organ | Board of Directors |
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| Website | iboboxing.com |
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The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is a US based corporation that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and regional championships.[1]
It is an independent and well-known organization not recognized by the "big four" governing bodies (WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO), who only recognize each other in their rankings and title unification rules. Despite this, as of 2023, the IBO title is unified with three of the four, including the WBA, IBF, and WBO, in several weight divisions.
It is recognized as a legitimate world championship by the British Boxing Board of Control, the European Boxing Union,[2] BoxRec,[3] and BoxingScene but is unrecognized as such by The Ring magazine.[4]
History
The IBO was founded in 1988 and incorporated in Illinois in 1992 by John W. Daddono. The organization was later moved to Florida in 1997 and incorporated in Florida at that time. Ed Levine, who continues to serve as the organization's President became a partner and President of the IBO at that time.
The organization received acclaim by implementing a computerized system 'The Independent World Boxing Rankings' in the late 1990s that removed subjective elements from the ratings in an effort to bring more credibility to the sport. From 2014 the organization now employs Boxrec, the independent boxing records keeper and computerized rankings website to produce IBO's rankings.[5] Many marquee champions have held and continue to hold the International Boxing Organization World title.[6]
The IBO permits only one world champion per weight division.[7] "We have never had more than one champion per weight division nor will we", according to its president Ed Levine.[8]
In addition to world champions, IBO recognizes regional champions, including the Inter-Continental champion.[7] If an IBO Inter-Continental champion successfully defends his title three times, he may receive a mandatory opportunity for the world title.[9]
