Hypothetically, if GGG becomes a star does the IBO belt go up in value?

Andre - If Wladimir gave up his other belts and he publicly asserted that the IBO title was the real world championship, that would obviously do wonders for the IBO's public standing. I just don't see anything of that nature happening. The IBO most likely offers their belt to the lineal heavyweight champion for free. I don't think there's any chance Lewis, Rahman or Klitschko were paying any percentage of their purses to the IBO. If anything, the IBO should be paying them for pretending the IBO title is a major title. Like it or not, some belts do mean more than others. They mean more than others because of who has held them in the past. When you win the WBC heavyweight title for instance, it's not just that you beat Bermane Stiverne, it's that you're joining the ranks of Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Leon Spinks, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, etc. That's obviously going to be more historically significant and recognizable than winning the WBO heavyweight title for instance.

The IBO has had many fighters wear their straps in the past at least once, even Pacquiao and Mayweather have fought for their straps. Klitschko owns the IBO strap. When Fury wins he will own the strap and when he unifies with the WBC he'll own 5 organization belts + The Ring belt. Golovkin as well owns an IBO belt and seeks to unify the division and it looks likely it will happen for him. Is the IBO gaining in value? 15 years ago the WBO wasn't on the same level of prestige. No. If he becomes a star, Golovkin will then be recognized as the newly minted IBO Super Cubic Zirconium Middleweight Champion.

In any division, the IBO belt is an afterthought. It's not recognized by the fighters, media, promoters or sanctioning bodies. It's not recognized by anybody except a few websites that the IBO happens to buy advertising from. Fair point, it doesn't have the glamour of the others. However at the moment it's held by the long standing heavyweight champion of the world, if Wlad was stripped of all his other belts and only held the IBO then it would still be more worthwhile winning than the other belts due to the credibility of the holder. But my point is really that the mentality that "one belt means more than another" is fruitless and detracts from observing who the best actual boxer is in a division. Because if you rely on belts to understand who the best fighters are you'll be often fooled.

In the heavyweight division the IBO belt is a bigger prize than the WBC, because the fighter who holds it is better. In any division, the IBO belt is an afterthought. It's not recognized by the fighters, media, promoters or sanctioning bodies. It's not recognized by anybody except a few websites that the IBO happens to buy advertising from.

Belts are only as credible as the boxers who hold them. In the heavyweight division the IBO belt is a bigger prize than the WBC, because the fighter who holds it is better.

Their most notable champions (that I recognize) right now: Klitschko - Heavyweight Chakhkiev - Cruiserweight Golovkin - Middleweight Lara - Super Welterweight Payano (beat Rau'Shee Warren) - Bantamweight How dare you leave off Hekkie Budler from that list after all the only reason Golovkin went after the IBO belt was when he heard Budler had one and we know how he's basically a MW version of the Hexecutioner

Sly Slick Smooth - Because there are already so many belts, IF another belt ever gains acceptance, it would have to be instead of the status quo and not in addition to. I do think PBC can eventually pull off introducing belts. Not because the boxing public would want there to be five titles, but because the public really wants there to be one title. If PBC can make it work, it would be because people like the idea of there being just one recognized title. So they'd have to gain acceptance instead of the others. It can't be in addition to. Too late for that. Which is why the IBO and others have failed as well. It took the WBO 19 years to gain full acceptance and with all four organizations recognizing each other and working together, it's nearly impossible for a new belt to break through unless it's a PBC takeover.

slyslicksmooth - IF klitschko and golovkin unify the WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO/IBO and then throw the big four in the garbage and insist the IBO title is the only credible belt (due to the computer rankings), the industry would have no choice but to recognize the IBO. it would be pretty close to instant, like what the IBF pulled off with holmes. but i don't think K2 would do that in a million years, so it's a moot point. interesting point. but highly unlikely it happens now with four other belts in the equation. the next champions would just have to target the belt i suppose.

If Lennox Lewis couldn't raise its value back in the day.. I like the IBO. It's a pain in the ass they use BoxRec rankings but they only have one title for their divisions so.. They're below the big four but above the rest. IBO > every other belt for me. Their most notable champions (that I recognize) right now: Klitschko - Heavyweight Chakhkiev - Cruiserweight Golovkin - Middleweight Lara - Super Welterweight Payano (beat Rau'Shee Warren) - Bantamweight

boliodogs - this thread is about the IBO, not the WBO. you may be a little confused. the WBO has gained a TON of value over the last decade . . . but the IBO has definitely lost value the last decade. slyslicksmooth - IF klitschko and golovkin unify the WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO/IBO and then throw the big four in the garbage and insist the IBO title is the only credible belt (due to the computer rankings), the industry would have no choice but to recognize the IBO. it would be pretty close to instant, like what the IBF pulled off with holmes. but i don't think K2 would do that in a million years, so it's a moot point.

This is all just speculation, one or two fighters holding an organization's belt won't make it on the same level instantly. Let's not forget even Roy Jones Jr. was the WBC, WBA, IBF, NBA, WBF, IBO, IBA, and The Ring Champion at 175.

I think it is gaining steadily in value and GGG will add a little bit to it's prestige. Some great fighters have been a WBO champion and GGG would be another great WBO champion

Hopefully not, if anything they MUST get rid of a lot of the belts that are out there, we got like 6 champs per division sometimes, this is ridiculous.

ИATAS - The IBF was established in 1983 and by 1984, they had recognition on par with the WBA and WBC. The IBO was established in 1993, it's now 2015, and they aren't recognized by anybody of note as being on par with the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO. The IBO had two things working against it. #1 - They were too late to the party. #2 - They were created out of thin air. The IBF and WBO were created by defecting WBA members. The WBC was created by existing athletic commissions and government entities. If you're hoping for ONE recognized title someday . . . and I'm hoping for that too . . . the best chance of that happening is PBC achieving recognition as boxing's equivalent of the NFL or NBA. Which would completely cut out the sanctioning bodies, put most of the best fighters under one umbrella, and the fights the public wants most would usually get made (like in UFC). Bram - Great point. The only thing that could really put IBO on par with the others would be Klitschko and Golovkin unifying the four major titles in their divisions and then throwing all of them in the garbage and publicly declaring the IBO title as the true championship. If they did that, close to overnight, the IBO championship would gain full recognition. Hell, with their computerized rankings, if K2's fighters publicly positioned things the right way, complaining about all of the corruption and pushing the PR spin that the IBO title can't be corrupt due to no human influence over rankings, K2 could put a huge dent in the other four and prop up the IBO as the the most recognizable championship. But why would they do it? They really have no reason to take that risk. But yes, them pulling a "Larry Holmes" would be what it would take. Sugar Adam - If the belts have no value, why does the entire sport revolve around them?

None of the belts have any true value,,, why would Iba be any different..

I don't think so. For that to happen, he would literally have to become a spokesperson for them. He'd have to vacate the rest of the titles and probably even start wearing their ring patches like on his regular street clothes or something like that. But as it is right now, I don't think most people, not even most hardcore boxing fans, know who has which ABC title all of the time. And I like it that way.

SlySlickSmooth - The IBO has a lot less value and prestige than it did a decade ago. It's gone down in value, not up. Yes, of course, in a small way, it helps the IBO that K2 agrees to promote the belts, but beyond K2, the IBO has very little going for it, far less than it used to. Once the WBO gained universal acceptance over the last 5-10 years, it seems the industry just kind of collectively decided that they weren't going to let anybody else squeeze through the door after the WBO. So suddenly the IBO started getting the cold shoulder from networks and promoters that were previously interested. One thing they've had going for them though is that from 1999 onward, their heavyweight title has always been held by the lineal champion. There's NO way those guys were paying 3% of their purse though and were most likely paying 0% as it benefited the IBO far more than it benefited the recognized heavyweight champion to accept their belt.

Jan Zaveck is WBF super welterweight titleholder Rubio won the WBF middleweight title in 2012, Alexander Brand the guy fighting Andre Ward holds it at present IBA is mostly vacant http://www.ibamensboxing.com/champions.htm So Lara-Zaveck and Ward-Brand are unification bouts lol.

Yes, that's exactly what we need, a 5th major sanctioning body. Because 4 sanctioning bodies crowning 5 champions per division (not counting interim champions) is not enough. We need a 5th sanctioning body so we can have 6 champions per division (since WBA crowns 2 champs in most weight classes). I'm not implying that's what we need if that's what you inferred. Simply stating facts that if the guys who beat Klitschko and Golovkin don't drop the IBO belts it will be there to stay and whoever beats those two will probably have at least 3 other belts with them. The only way these belts split is if the organizations decide to strip the next champion or the next champion refuses to pay the fees.

Yeah, who are their champs? Jan Zaveck is WBF super welterweight titleholder Rubio won the WBF middleweight title in 2012, Alexander Brand the guy fighting Andre Ward holds it at present IBA is mostly vacant http://www.ibamensboxing.com/champions.htm