World Boxing Association in History

Events in Sport

1965-03-05 Ernie Terrell beats Eddie Machen by unanimous points decision over 15 rounds in Chicago, Illinois to win vacant WBA heavyweight boxing title

Ali KOs Liston

1965-05-25 Muhammad Ali KOs Sonny Liston at 2:12 of round 1 at Central Maine Civic Center, Lewiston to retain his WBC/WBA heavyweight boxing title

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali

Boxer and World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston

1965-11-01 Ernie Terrell retains WBA heavyweight boxing title; beats Canadian George Chuvalo in 15 round points decision in Toronto
1966-06-28 Ernie Terrell beats Doug Jones by unanimous points decision over 15 rounds in Houston to retain his WBA heavyweight boxing title
1966-08-15 Puerto Rican champion José Torres beats American Eddie Cotton on points in Las Vegas to retain the WBC/WBA light-heavyweight boxing title
1967-02-06 Muhammad Ali pummels Ernie Terrell for 15 rounds to retain his world heavyweight boxing crown at Houston Astrodome; regains Terrell’s WBA belt as well

Monzon vs. Benvenuti

1970-11-07 Argentine boxer Carlos Monzon upsets defending champion Nino Benvenuti of Italy in 12th round KO in Rome to win WBC, WBA middleweight titles

Frazier vs. Foster

1970-11-18 Future HOF boxer Joe Frazier KOs defending champion Bob Foster in 2nd round at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles

1972-01-15 World heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier stops Terry Daniels in 4 rounds in New Orleans to retain his WBC and WBA titles
1973-01-02 Japanese boxer Masao Ohba retains his WBA flyweight title with a 12th-round knockout of Chartchai Chionoi of Thailand in Tokyo; Ohba dies three weeks later in a car accident

Foreman vs. Frazier

1973-01-22 George Foreman TKOs Joe Frazier in 2 rounds to win WBC & WBA heavyweight boxing titles in Kingston, Jamaica; Frazier knocked down 3 times in both 1st & 2nd rounds

1973-09-01 In his first title defense George Foreman retains his WBC & WBA heavyweight crowns when he KOs Jose "King" Roman of Puerto Rico in round 1 in Tokyo, Japan
1974-03-26 George Foreman TKOs Ken Norton in 2nd round for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight boxing titles in Caracas, Venezuela
1974-11-23 Alexis Argüello of Nicaragua knocks out Mexican defending champion Rubén Olivares in the 13th round at the Forum in Inglewood, California, to claim the WBA world featherweight boxing title
1975-10-01 "The Thrilla in Manila"; Muhammad Ali stops Joe Frazier in 14 rounds in Quezon City, the Philippines to retain his WBC/WBA heavyweight title

Sports History

1976-03-06 In his 10th title defense, WBA light welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes of Colombia is beaten by 17-year-old Puerto Rican boxer Wilfred Benítez in a 15-round split decision in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Benitez youngest ever world champion

1976-09-28 Muhammad Ali beats Ken Norton in a 15 round unanimous points decision for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight boxing titles
1977-09-29 Muhammad Ali beats Earnie Shavers by unanimous decision over 15 rounds in NYC for WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight boxing titles

Durán vs. De Jesus

1978-01-21 Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán becomes undisputed world lightweight champion with a 12th-round TKO of Esteban De Jesus at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas; defends his WBA title for 12th time, also takes De Jesus’ WBC title

1979-10-20 American John Tate beats local favourite Gerrie Coetzee by UD in 15 rounds in Pretoria, South Africa for vacant WBA heavyweight boxing title

Boxing Title Fight

1980-03-31 Almost concurrent heavyweight boxing championship fights: Larry Holmes TKOs Leroy Jones in 8 for WBC title in Las Vegas, NV whilst Mike Weaver KOs John Tate in 15 for WBA belt in Knoxville, TN

Boxing Title Fight

1980-10-25 American Mike Weaver KOs local favourite Gerrie Coetzee in 13 rounds in Sun City, South Africa for WBA heavyweight boxing title

1981-10-03 After a year's inactivity, American boxer Mike Weaver outpoints countryman James 'Quick' Tillis in 15 rounds in Chicago to retain his WBA heavyweight title
1982-11-12 Aaron Pryor scores a 14th round KO of Alexis Argüello in Miami to retain his WBA super lightweight boxing title in the first of 2 meetings between the Hall of Famers; The Ring’s 'Fight of the Decade'

Sports History

1982-11-13 WBA lightweight champion Ray Mancini beats South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim by TKO in 14th round in Las Vegas; Kim collapses, falls into a coma and dies 4 days later; as a result, WBC shortens title bouts to 12 rounds; WBA & WBO follow in 1988, and IBF in 1989

1982-11-18 South Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim dies from injuries sustained during a 14-round beating by Ray Mancini in Las Vegas; WBC shortens title bouts to 12 rounds; WBA and WBO follow in 1988, and IBF in 1989
1983-09-23 Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa KOs American Michael Dokes in 10 rounds in Richfield. Ohio for WBA heavyweight boxing title
1984-01-14 Ray Mancini scores a 3rd-round TKO of Bobby Chacon to retain his WBA lightweight title in Reno, Nevada; Chacon so severely battered he thanks referee Richard Steele for stopping the fight
1984-12-01 American boxer Greg Page KOs home town favourite Gerrie Coetzee in 8th round to win WBA heavyweight title in Sun City, South Africa
1985-02-16 Livingston Bramble defeats Ray Mancini to win WBA lightweight championship, in Buffalo, New York
1985-04-29 Tony Tubbs beats defending champion Greg Page by unanimous decision in 15 rounds at Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo for WBA heavyweight boxing title
1986-01-17 Tim Witherspoon beats defending champion Tony Tubbs by majority decision in 15 rounds at The Omni, Atlanta for WBA heavyweight boxing title
1986-02-09 Marvin Johnson stops Leslie Stewart in 7 rounds in Indianapolis to win WBA light heavyweight boxing title; record 3rd time he regains a version of light heavyweight crown
1986-12-12 James "Bone Crusher" Smith TKO's WBA champ Tim Witherspoon in Madison Square Garden

Boxing Title Fight

1987-03-07 Mike Tyson beats James 'Bonecrusher' Smith by unanimous decision in 12 rounds in Las Vegas for WBC / WBA heavyweight boxing titles

1987-05-30 Mike Tyson beats Pinklon Thomas by TKO in round 6 in Las Vegas to retain WBC / WBA heavyweight boxing titles
1987-08-01 Mike Tyson outpoints Tony Tucker in 12 rounds in a heavyweight boxing unification matchup in Las Vegas; first to own all 3 major belts WBA, WBC and IBF simultaneously

Boxing Title Fight

1991-06-03 Thomas Hearns captures WBA light heavyweight title

1995-03-04 George Foreman loses WBA boxing title, refusing to fight Tony Tucker
1995-04-08 American Bruce Seldon defeats by RTD over Tony Tucker in 7 rounds to win vacated WBA boxing title

Holyfield vs. Tyson

1996-11-09 Evander Holyfield upsets Mike Tyson in 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas to regain WBA heavyweight boxing title; second boxer, after Muhammad Ali, to win a heavyweight title 3 times

2003-03-01 World light heavyweight boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. wins a unanimous decision against champion John Ruiz to capture the WBA heavyweight crown in Las Vegas

Klitschko vs. Povetkin

2013-10-05 Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko beats Russian Alexander Povetkin in a 12 round unanimous points decision in Moscow to retain his WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO heavyweight titles

2013-10-12 Timothy Bradley defeats Juan Manuel Márquez to win the WBA Welterweight boxing title
2015-11-28 British boxer Tyson Fury beats Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko by unanimous decision to win WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO, The Ring magazine and lineal heavyweight titles in Düsseldorf, Germany; ends Klitschko's 9 year reign as champion

Pacquiao KOs Matthysse

2018-07-15 Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao stops WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse in 7 in Kuala Lumpur for his first knockout in 9 years and 60th career victory

2019-06-01 Mexican-American boxer Andy Ruiz Jr produces a huge upset when he stops English champion Anthony Joshua in 7 at Madison Square Garden; wins IBF, WBO, IBO and WBA world heavyweight titles

Birthdays in Sport

1948-11-02 Víctor Galíndez, Argentine boxer (WBA light heavyweight title 1974-79), born in Vedia, Buenos Aires (d. 1980)
1949-10-21 Masao Ohba, Japanese boxer (WBA flyweight champion 1970-73), born in Tokyo, Japan (d. 1973)

Mike Weaver (72 years old)

1951-06-13 American heavyweight boxer (WBA World Heavyweight Champion), born in Gatesville, Texas

1952-07-03 Peter Mathebula, South African boxer (WBA flyweight title, 1980-81), born in Mohlakeng, South Africa (d. 2020)

Leon Spinks (1953-2021)

1953-07-11 American boxer (WBC, WBA heavyweight champion 1978; Olympic gold light heavyweight 1976), born in St. Louis, Missouri

1954-04-12 Marvin Johnson, American boxer (WBC Light heavyweight title 1978; WBA Light heavyweight title 1979-80, 86-87), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
1955-01-29 John Tate, American boxer (WBA heavyweight championship 1979-80), born in Marion, Arkansas (d. 1998)
1955-04-08 Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer (WBA heavyweight title 1983-84), born in Boksburg, South Africa (d. 2023)
1956-01-01 Sergio Victor Palma, Argentine boxer (WBA Super Bantamweight champion 1980-82), born in La Tigra, Argentina (d. 2021)
1956-03-02 Eusebio Pedroza, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight champion 1978-85), born in Panama City, Panama (d. 2019)
1958-02-15 Tony Tubbs, American boxer (WBA heavyweight title 1985-86), born in Cincinnati, Ohio

Wilfred Benítez (65 years old)

1958-09-12 Puerto Rican boxer (youngest world champion at 17 years, 176 days [WBA Light Welterweight]), born in New York City

1960-08-17 Johnny Bumphus, American boxer (WBA super lightweight title 1984), born in Tacoma, Washington (d. 2020)

Ray Mancini (63 years old)

1961-03-04 American boxer (WBA lightweight title 1982-84), born in Youngstown, Ohio

1961-04-24 Roger Mayweather, American boxer, (WBA & lineal super featherweight titles 1983-84, WBC light welterweight 1987-89; IBO light welterweight; IBO welterweight 1994-95), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2020)
1962-07-12 Julio César Chávez, Mexican boxer (WBC super featherweight title 1984-87; WBA & WBC lightweight titles 1987-89; WBC light welterweight title 1989-94, 1994-96; IBF light welterweight title 1990-91), born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
1964-01-18 Virgil Hill, American boxer (WBA light heavyweight title 1987, 97; IBF & lineal light heavyweight titles 1996-97; WBA cruiserweight title 2000-02, 2006-07), born in Clinton, Missouri
1965-10-04 Orlin Norrris, American boxer (WBA cruiserweight champion 1993-95), born in Lubbock, Texas
1969-08-14 Keitaro Hoshino, Japanese boxer (WBA minimumweight title 2000-01, 02), born in Yokohama, Japan (d. 2021)
1971-04-01 James Page, American boxer (WBA Welterweight champion 1998-2000), born in Pittsburg, California
1975-10-01 Eric Morel, Puerto Rican boxer, (WBA flyweight champion 2000-03), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
1977-12-07 Fernando Vargas, American boxer (IBF light middleweight title 1998-2000, WBA title 2001-02), born in Oxnard, California
1979-03-01 Mikkel Kessler, Danish boxer (WBA super-middleweight title x 3; WBC title x 2; IBA title 2002), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
1979-10-23 Jorge Solís, Mexican boxer (WBA Super Featherweight title 2010), born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
1981-12-03 Edwin Valero, Venezuelan boxer (undefeated world champion WBA super featherweight 2006-08; WBC lightweight 2009-10), born in Bolero Alto, Mérida, Venezuela (d. 2010)
1997-09-06 Daniel Dubois, English boxer (WBA heavyweight title 2022-23), born in London, England

Deaths in Sport

1973-01-25 Masao Ohba, Japanese boxer (WBA flyweight champion 1970-73), dies in a car accident at 23
1980-10-25 Víctor Galíndez, Argentine boxer (WBA light heavyweight title 1974-79), dies in stock-car race pit area accident at 31
1998-04-09 John Tate, American boxer (WBA heavyweight championship 1979-80), dies from a stroke at 43
2010-04-19 Edwin Valero, Venezuelan boxer (undefeated world champion WBA super featherweight 2006-08; WBC lightweight 2009-10), commits suicide at 28
2011-05-08 Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (WBA, WBC, The Ring bantamweight title 1968-69; first Indigenous Australian to win a world title), dies at 62
2013-01-15 (Jesús) "Chucho" Castillo, Mexican bantamweight boxer (WBA, WBC, 1970), dies from a heart attack at 68
2014-03-23 Carmelo Bossi, Italian boxer (Olympic silver 1960; Lineal, WBC, WBA super welterweight title 1970-71), dies at 74
2014-05-06 Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (WBA heavyweight title 1968-70), dies from dementia at 74
2014-12-16 Ernie Terrell, American boxer (WBA heavyweight champion 1965-7), dies from dementia at 75
2015-04-27 Gene Fullmer, American boxer (World Middleweight title 1957; NBA [WBA] World Middleweight title 1959-62), dies at 83
2018-01-21 Chartchai Chionoi, Thai boxer (WBC/WBA flyweight champion), dies of Parkinson's disease at 75
2019-03-01 Eusebio Pedroza, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight champion 1978-85), dies of pancreatic cancer at 62
2020-01-18 Peter Mathebula, South African boxer (WBA flyweight title 1980-81), dies at 67
2020-01-31 Johnny Bumphus, American boxer (WBA super lightweight title 1984), dies at 59
2020-03-17 Roger Mayweather, American boxer (WBA & lineal super featherweight title 1983-84, WBC light welterweight 1987-89; IBO light welterweight; IBO welterweight 1994-95), dies at 58
2020-05-29 Curtis Cokes, American boxer (WBA/WBC world welterweight champion 1966-69), dies of heart failure at 82

2020-06-29 Ernesto Marcel, Panamanian boxer (WBA featherweight title 1972-74), dies at 72
2020-08-22 Alessandro Mazzinghi, Italian boxer (WBA and WBC light-middleweight champion 1963–65, 68), dies from a stroke at 81
2020-10-28 Miguel Ángel Castellini, Argentine boxer (WBA, lineal light middleweight titles 1976-77), dies from COVID-19 at 73

Leon Spinks (1953-2021)

2021-02-05 American boxer (WBC, WBA heavyweight champion 1978; Olympic gold light heavyweight 1976), dies from prostate cancer at 67

2021-06-28 Sergio Victor Palma, Argentine boxer (WBA Super Bantamweight champion 1980-82), dies from COVID-19 at 65
2021-10-09 Keitaro Hoshino, Japanese boxer (WBA minimumweight title 2000-01, 02), dies at 52
2022-03-07 Berkrerk Chartvanchai, Thai boxer (WBA flyweight title 1970), dies at 77
2022-09-13 Horacio Accavallo, Argentine boxer (undisputed WBA & WBC flyweight titles 1966-68), dies at 87
2022-10-02 Éder Jofre, Brazilian boxer (WBA, WBC & The Ring Bantamweight, WBC Featherweight titles; International Boxing HOF), dies from chronic traumatic encephalopathy at 86
2023-01-12 Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer (WBA heavyweight title 1983-84), dies from cancer at 67
2023-05-22 Claude Noel, Tobagonian boxer (WBA Lightweight title 1981), dies at 74