World Boxing Organization
 |
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| Abbreviation | WBO |
|---|---|
| Motto | Dignity, Democracy, Honesty |
| Formation | 1988 |
| Type | Non-profit Institution |
| Purpose | Boxing sanctioning organization |
| Headquarters | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
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Region served
|
Worldwide |
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President
|
Francisco Varcarcel |
|
Main organ
|
General Assembly |
| Website | www |
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is a sanctioning organization which recognizes professional boxing world champions. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Council (WBC), and International Boxing Federation (IBF). The WBO's headquarters are located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The WBO started after a group of Puerto Rican and Dominican businessmen broke out of the WBA'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. Early on, the WBO experienced the shortcomings of a smaller organization, such as not presenting a belt to Junior Middleweight Paul "Silky" Jones after he won the title in 1995, a situation that became known 19 years later when the boxer made the claim. 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 held that position since.
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Wikipedia