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World Boxing Union
Former boxing organization
Former boxing organization
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | World Boxing Union |
| abbreviation | WBU |
| formation | |
| founder | Jon W. Robinson |
| founding_location | London, England |
| extinction | |
| tax_id | |
| registration_id | |
| purpose | Boxing sanctioning organization |
| headquarters | Organization dissolved |
| coords | |
| region | Worldwide |
| owner | |
| leader_title | president |
| leader_name | Jon Robinson |
The World Boxing Union (WBU) was a boxing sanctioning body. The original WBU was founded in January 1995 by IBF European representative, boxing journalist, actor and former holder of the title of Britain's heaviest man Jon W. Robinson. It sanctioned boxing with various promoters worldwide. Following Robinson's death in 2004, the organization became dormant and was eventually dissolved.
An organization serving the same purpose and with the same name, but with no connections to the original, was formed in Germany in 2010 under the leadership of Torsten Knille.
George Foreman beat challenger Crawford Grimsley 3-0 by decision in his first defense in Tokyo, Japan on November 3, 1996. The event was outside the jurisdiction of the Japan Boxing Commission. WBU is unfamiliar with the Japanese boxing industry, but Thai national champion Soh Ohba, a Japanese fighter, will be named 4th in the super featherweight division from August 2022.He is the son of the younger brother of Masao Ohba, a superstar and legendary hero in Japanese boxing in the 1970s, making him the nephew.He has been the Japan representative since June 2025.
Main article: George Foreman vs. Axel Schulz, George Foreman vs. Crawford Grimsley, George Foreman vs. Lou Savarese, George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs
List of WBU heavyweight champions
| Name | Duration of reign | Defenses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Foreman | March 29, 1995 – 1997 | 2 | Foreman was recognized as champion after he was stripped of the IBF title |
| Corrie Sanders | November 15, 1997 – May 20, 2000 | 3 | Defeated Ross Purity |
| Hasim Rahman | May 20, 2000 – April 21, 2001 | 0 | Relinquished the title in order to fight Lennox Lewis for the IBF, IBO and WBC titles |
| Johnny Nelson | November 24, 2001 – December 4, 2001 | 0 | Defeated Alexander Vasiliev. Relinquished the title in order to concentrate on defending his WBO Cruiserweight title |
| Georgi Kandelaki | December 21, 2002 – January 2004 | 0 | Defeated Alexander Vasiliev. Kandelaki either relinquished or was stripped of the title |
| Matt Skelton | February 25, 2005 – January 26, 2009 | 0 | Skelton relinquished the title |
Other WBU champions (selected)
Other past WBU champions include Sirimongkol Singwancha, Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym, Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, Ricky Hatton, Eamonn Magee, Tony Oakey, Corrie Sanders, Enzo Maccarinelli, Lee McAllister, Angel Manfredy, George Scott, Hasim Rahman, Willie Limond, Craig Docherty, Michael Gomez, Kevin Lear, Anthony Farnell, Jimmy Lange, Derry Mathews, Choi Tseveenpurev, Jeremy Williams, Cristian Charquero, Wayne Elcock, Roy Jones Jr., David Burke, Vinny Pazienza, and Micky Ward.
In addition, Carlos Contreras defeated challenger Victor Rabanales by 8RTKO.
- List of WBU world champions
References
References
- "Jon Robinson".
- (14 April 2012). "The talk in boxing".
- "WBU History – World Boxing Union".
- "George Foreman vs. Axel Schulz". boxrec.com.
- "BoxRec - Corrie Sanders". boxrec.com.
- "Hasim Rahman vs. Corrie Sanders". boxrec.com.
- "BoxRec - Johnny Nelson". boxrec.com.
- "BoxRec - George Kandelaki". boxrec.com.
- "BoxRec - Matt Skelton". boxrec.com.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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