International Boxing Federation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
International Boxing Federation

Abbreviation	IBF
Formation	1983; 42 years ago (1983)
Type	Non-profit institution
Purpose	Boxing sanctioning organization
Headquarters	Springfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Region served	Worldwide
President	Daryl Peoples
Main organ	General Assembly

The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is a big organization that helps manage professional boxing matches. It's one of the four main groups recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame. These groups make sure boxing matches are fair and decide who the champions are. The other main groups are the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Council (WBC), and the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

History of the IBF

The IBF started from an organization called the United States Boxing Association (USBA). The USBA was a group that organized boxing championships in a specific region, like the North American Boxing Federation (NABF).

In 1983, the president of the USBA, Robert W. "Bobby" Lee Sr., wanted to become the president of the WBA. He lost the election. After this, Lee and others decided to create a new, worldwide boxing organization.

This new group was first called USBA-International. On November 6, 1983, it was renamed the International Boxing Federation. Its main offices are still in New Jersey.

The IBF's very first world champion was Marvin Camel. He had already been a world champion with the WBC. The IBF gave him their championship belt in the same weight class.

At first, not many people knew about the IBF. But in 1984, they recognized famous boxers like Larry Holmes, Aaron Pryor, Marvin Hagler, and Donald Curry as their world champions. These boxers were already champions with other organizations. For example, Larry Holmes gave up his WBC title to become an IBF champion. This helped the IBF become known as a serious and important boxing organization.

IBF world championship belts for men are red. The belts for women are light blue.

Challenges and Changes in Leadership

In the late 1990s, the IBF faced a big problem. After a long investigation, its founder, Bobby Lee, was accused of doing wrong things. He was found to have taken money unfairly to help boxers get higher rankings. This damaged the IBF's reputation.

In 2000, a boxing promoter named Bob Arum said he had paid money to Bobby Lee. Other promoters also admitted to similar payments. Lee was later found guilty of some financial crimes and had to pay a fine and go to prison.

After Bobby Lee's conviction, the IBF was watched closely by the government until September 2004. Hiawatha Knight became the interim president. She was the first woman to lead a world boxing organization. Later, Marian Muhammad became president in 2001. Daryl J. Peoples then took over and has been the president since 2018.

In 2017, the IBF held its first convention for IBF Muaythai in Bangkok. Muay Thai is a type of martial arts boxing. New champions were crowned in different weight classes.

The IBF also took action in response to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. They stopped championship fights that involved boxers from Russia and Belarus.

Current IBF World Champions

Here are the current IBF world champions.

Male Champions

Female Champions

Muay Thai World Champions

See also

In Spanish: Federación Internacional de Boxeo para niños

• List of major boxing sanctioning bodies
• List of IBF world champions
• List of IBF female world champions
• List of current world boxing champions
• List of IBF Muay Thai world champions