The traditional big four boxing sanctioning bodies in the sport are in rapid, speedy descent and decline in live boxing time right now.
So much so two of them have attempted to join forces even this week.
We live in a time now where spectators new and old in the sport just want to see the best fights.
Where the best fighters are competing against one another regularly and titles are no longer important.
Here’s context for what happened with the WBO and IBF for those new, and even those old, to boxing:
- The WBO and IBF announced their first-ever joint convention in December 2026.
- This is the first time these two sanctioning bodies have held a shared event.
- They plan joint seminars, awards, and unification fights between their champions.
- The alliance aims to protect their role against new promoter-led models.
- Sanctioning bodies are facing growing pressure from promoters who want more control, spectators care less and less about them now.
- Many fighters now resist paying high sanctioning fees.
- The WBA has already cut back on extra titles due to financial strain.
- Having four major bodies with multiple belts per division has drawn heavy criticism at this point.
- Sanctioning fees and rankings have become a major point of conflict in boxing.
- The WBO-IBF partnership signals that traditional sanctioning bodies have already lost their influence, power and hold on the sport.
At this point, all four of them including the WBA and WBC are done.
No one cares about them anymore.
Boxers are continually not paying their sanctioning fees anymore and this will only continue more and more.
The sport doesn’t need them anymore.
It doesn’t matter who promotes the fights or who puts them on either.
As long as the best prospects, contenders and champions face one another more regularly, that is all that matters.
Boxing as a sport will continue to move on without the boxing sanctioning bodies who are now no longer important or relevant to the sport.
This is the policy that is adopted and will remain in place for the sport for years to come in professional boxing.
The boxing sanctioning bodies have no bearing on anything anymore and are simply not important.
That’s the policy.
