Boxing News
The WBA remove fighter from rankings after complaint from British Boxing Board of Control
Apr 8, 2025 • 4:00 PM ET
The World Boxing Association (WBA) have confirmed they will only sanction bouts in Britain which are governed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC) after an objection from the national commission - in relation to the British and Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA) - was filed at the WBA Convention in December.
The complaint was triggered by a February 2024 victory for Eleanor Coulsen over Jamie Edenden which saw the British boxer claim a WBA middleweight regional title and achieve a No. 5 world ranking with the sanctioning body. By November, that ranking had risen to No. 1.
Yet the promoter of the event was not a BBBoC license-holder, nor has Coulsen ever obtained a boxer’s license from the BBBoC, the only government regulated boxing commission in the UK. Consequently, none of her 17 professional contests are listed on BoxRec, the industry’s go-to record database – but they can be found on FightFax.
After considering the BBBoC’s complaint, the WBA have removed Coulsen from their middleweight rankings and indicated they will no longer recognize any BIBA-commissioned contests that take place in any region under the auspices of the BBBoC.
A letter seen by BoxingScene, from the WBA president Gilberto Mendoza to the BBBoC general secretary Robert Smith, reads in part: “I would like to confirm that the WBA will indeed only sanction championship bouts at events promoted under the auspices of the BBBoC. We fully respect the BBBoC as the sole recognized and approved boxing authority for professional boxing in Great Britain, as outlined by the UK government.
“The BBBoC is seen by the WBA as a centennial and pioneer organization, contributing significantly to the supervision and control of WBA world and regional titles.
“Should the WBA have any requests in the future regarding WBA championship bouts in Great Britain, we will ensure the BBBoC Head Office is involved to confirm that the respective promoter holds the necessary license issued by the BBBoC.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership and working together to uphold the integrity of the sport in the UK.”
Matt Christie, a lifelong fight fan, has worked in boxing for more than 20 years. He left Boxing News in 2024 after 14 years, nine of which were spent as editor-in-chief. Before that, he was the producer of weekly boxing show “KOTV.” Now the co-host of “The Opening Bell” podcast and regularly used in the UK as a pundit, Matt was named as the Specialist Correspondent of the Year at the prestigious Sports Journalism Awards in 2021, which was the seventh SJA Award he accepted during his stint in the hot seat at Boxing News. The following year, he was inducted into the British Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a member of the BWAA and has been honored several times in their annual writing awards.