International Boxing Organization

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The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.

1 Origins
2 "Stepping Stone" to Credibility
3 Past and Current IBO Champions
4 IBO Heavyweight Champions
5 See also
- 5.1 Other world organizations
- 5.2 External link

[edit] Origins

The IBO was founded in the 1993 as a Florida corporation by Ed Levine, who continues to serve as the organization's President and leader.

[edit] "Stepping Stone" to Credibility

While successful since its formation, the IBO's world championship was initially considered to be a "stepping stone" title - one which up and coming boxers win on their way to gaining the opportunity to fight for a more prestigious organization's championship title. Although the organization received some acclaim by implementing a computerized system in the late 1990's that removed subjective elements from the ratings, it is still not considered a major sanctioning body. The IBO has increased its visibility by awarding its championships to champions of more established organizations.

[edit] Past and Current IBO Champions

The IBO's roster of champions since the implementation of its computerized ranking system has been steadily improving, and past or current IBO champions include:

Lennox Lewis, former Heavyweight champion
Brian Nielsen, former Heavyweight champion
Wladimir Klitschko, current Heavyweight titleholder
Roy Jones, Jr., former Light Heavyweight champion
Bernard Hopkins, current Light Heavyweight champion
Floyd Mayweather, current Welterweight champion

[edit] IBO Heavyweight Champions

Name:	Date:	Location:	Defenses:
Pinklon Thomas def. Craig Payne	November 14, 1992	Greenville, North Carolina	0
Title vacated	January 29, 1993	Pinklon Thomas relinquished the title to fight for the WBF title.
Lionel Butler def. Tony Willis	February 23, 1993	Reseda, California	0
Title vacated	1993
Danell Nicholson def. John Ruiz	August 4, 1994	Mashantucket, Connecticut	0
Title vacated	1994
Jimmy Thunder def. Richard Mason	October 29, 1994	Atlantic City, New Jersey	2
Title vacated	1995
Tony LaRosa def. Frank Minton	July 29, 1995	Chicago, Illinois	0
Brian Nielsen	January 12, 1996	Copenhagen, Denmark	5
Title vacated	September 1999
Lennox Lewis def. Evander Holyfield	November 13, 1999	Las Vegas, Nevada	3
Hasim Rahman	April 21, 2001	Brakpan, South Africa	0
Lennox Lewis (2)	November 17, 2001	Las Vegas, Nevada	2
Title vacated	February 6, 2004	Lennox Lewis announced his retirement.
Wladimir Klitschko def. Chris Byrd	April 22, 2006	Mannheim, Germany	2