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The IBF was preceded by
the USBA, United States Boxing Association, a
regional championships organization like the
NABF,
NABC and
NABA. In
1983, at the WBA's annual convention, held in
Puerto Rico
that year,
Bob Lee,
president of the USBA, lost in his bid to become WBA
president against
Gilberto Mendoza.
Lee and others withdrew from the convention after the election,
and decided to organize a new world-level organization. At
first, the new group was named the USBA-International. They
decided to base the new organization in
New Jersey,
where its main offices are still located.
The IBF's first world champion was
Marvin Camel,
a former WBC world Cruiserweight champion who won the IBF's belt
in the same division. During its first year of existence,
however, the IBF remained largely obscure. But by 1984, the IBF
decided to recognize
Larry Holmes,
Aaron Pryor,
Marvin Hagler
and
Donald Curry,
already established champions from other organizations, as IBF
world champions. In Holmes case, he relinquished his
WBC title
to accept the IBF's recognition. It established the IBF as the
"third" sanctioning body, and a legitimate organization.
Ever since then, the IBF has been
the sanctioning body of many important fights and world
champions. For example,
Félix Trinidad
was the IBF's world Welterweight champion from 1993 to 2000, and
is one of a long list of world champions who have been
recognized by the IBF. The current IBF Heavyweight champion is
Ukrainian
Wladimir Klitschko.
The organization's reputation was
seriously damaged in 1999, however, as Lee resigned as the IBF's
President upon conviction on racketeering and other violations
for taking bribes in exhange for high boxer rankings, and
Hiawatha Knight
became the first woman president of any of the world's governing
boxing bodies. In 2001,
Marian Muhammad
followed her as president. The organization was under federal
observation from Lee's conviction through September 2004, though
remaining recognized as one of boxing's "big three" sanctioning
organizations. |
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