The history of the IBA and WBU.

Yeah I remember them scaling back but they never banned them completely. The IBO has always been pretty well revived over here. I actually supported this move at the time, I’m a big believer in the legitimate organisations like BBBofC, CBC, EBU and the four recognised ABC World titles- it even took me a while to accept the WBO tbh. However, Sky are such hypocrites man, even if they say they’re gonna do something, it doesn’t mean they’ll actually do it and this was a prime example. For instance, 3 years after denouncing Thompson’s IBO reign they were promoting Lovemore Ndou vs Matthew Hatton as Hatton’s “big chance at a world title”. That same year they were showing Ricky Hatton IBO title fights on PPV. Bottom line is, if there’s money in it for Sky, morals go out the window. For instance had Haye beat Thompson and Sky had the chance to promote a more marketable fighter as a “world champion” rather than a 40 year old on the brink of retirement, I imagine they would have seen things differently. :lol1: I'm not disagreeing with anything you're saying. But the point still is that the Sky Sports moving away from the IBO is the reason the IBO lost all of their momentum.

"Three British fighters with claims to 'world' champion status simultaneously lost their title belts last month. Carl Thompson, Jawaid Khaliq and Damaen Kelley all held International Boxing Organization belts but the US-based sanctioning body was forced to strip the British trio of their crowns after each failed to make a defense in 2005. What is interesting is that these fighters were not prevented from defending their belts because of any illness or injury, but because their respective promoters could not get broadcast partner Sky Sports to agree to showcase (and bankroll) a fight involving an IBO title. After years of trying to present WBU, WBF and various 'Intercontinental' and 'International' baubles as legitimate championships to their viewers, Sky decided to significantly up their quality control last summer and it appears the IBO - and the three Britons who held IBO titles - have become a causality of that new policy." "It's not fair to call it a strict 'policy' as such but there's no doubt what we are trying to do is concentrate on the titles from the more widely recognised sanctioning bodies. That means British, Commonwealth and European Titles and, at world level, WBC, WBA and IBF titles. There are the ones recognised across the world. I'd also add the WBO into that purely because of the WBO's history in this country with (the reigns of) Benn, Eubank, Collins and Hamed all lending it credibility in this country. I think they are the titles which we should try and concentrate on." In a move which may puzzle some fans, Sky want Thompson in a meaningful fight but not in an IBO title defence. Thompson was even asked to challenge Mark Hobson for the British Title on the show and, while that would be an excellent fight, at age 41 Thompson understandably feels miffed that he, a proud world-class title holder if not exactly a 'world champion', was asked to fight for a domestic belt he has twice relinquished without ever losing in the ring. Yeah I remember them scaling back but they never banned them completely. The IBO has always been pretty well revived over here. I actually supported this move at the time, I’m a big believer in the legitimate organisations like BBBofC, CBC, EBU and the four recognised ABC World titles- it even took me a while to accept the WBO tbh. However, Sky are such hypocrites man, even if they say they’re gonna do something, it doesn’t mean they’ll actually do it and this was a prime example. For instance, 3 years after denouncing Thompson’s IBO reign they were promoting Lovemore Ndou vs Matthew Hatton as Hatton’s “big chance at a world title”. That same year they were showing Ricky Hatton IBO title fights on PPV. Bottom line is, if there’s money in it for Sky, morals go out the window. For instance had Haye beat Thompson and Sky had the chance to promote a more marketable fighter as a “world champion” rather than a 40 year old on the brink of retirement, I imagine they would have seen things differently. :lol1:

Sky never banned IBO title fights. They’ve shown them for years. Still show them now. They were literally promoting AJ as a “four belt unified champion”. I don’t think they banned WBU fights either, they were still showing WBU fights on Warren shows up until the mid 2000’s when the WBU began to collapse. "Three British fighters with claims to 'world' champion status simultaneously lost their title belts last month. Carl Thompson, Jawaid Khaliq and Damaen Kelley all held International Boxing Organization belts but the US-based sanctioning body was forced to strip the British trio of their crowns after each failed to make a defense in 2005. What is interesting is that these fighters were not prevented from defending their belts because of any illness or injury, but because their respective promoters could not get broadcast partner Sky Sports to agree to showcase (and bankroll) a fight involving an IBO title. After years of trying to present WBU, WBF and various 'Intercontinental' and 'International' baubles as legitimate championships to their viewers, Sky decided to significantly up their quality control last summer and it appears the IBO - and the three Britons who held IBO titles - have become a causality of that new policy." "It's not fair to call it a strict 'policy' as such but there's no doubt what we are trying to do is concentrate on the titles from the more widely recognised sanctioning bodies. That means British, Commonwealth and European Titles and, at world level, WBC, WBA and IBF titles. There are the ones recognised across the world. I'd also add the WBO into that purely because of the WBO's history in this country with (the reigns of) Benn, Eubank, Collins and Hamed all lending it credibility in this country. I think they are the titles which we should try and concentrate on." In a move which may puzzle some fans, Sky want Thompson in a meaningful fight but not in an IBO title defence. Thompson was even asked to challenge Mark Hobson for the British Title on the show and, while that would be an excellent fight, at age 41 Thompson understandably feels miffed that he, a proud world-class title holder if not exactly a 'world champion', was asked to fight for a domestic belt he has twice relinquished without ever losing in the ring.

You're still showing your face? Remember when you said fury-wilder wasn't happening and the idiot robbie proved you wrong? How heart broken were you when windmill got stopped? its still a red face after losing a mil on the fury wilder fight LMAO btw i made 10 mil on that fight

Had someone PM me asking why the IBO has dropped off. Sky Sports killed all of their momentum. The IBO was following a similar path to the WBO where it slowly gains steam, mainly in Europe where historically promoters have been more eager to feature unrecognized titles. Sky Sports then decided they would no longer broadcast IBO, WBU, etc fights. They only wanted the main four world titles and regional title bouts (British, Commonwealth, European, etc). Once Sky Sports made that rule, the IBO lost all of their momentum and have never recovered. For a while, Frank Warren was backing the WBU while Eddie Hearn was backing the IBO and WBF. The head of Sky Sports deciding to ban the WBU, IBO and WBF essentially crippled those three organizations. Sky never banned IBO title fights. They’ve shown them for years. Still show them now. They were literally promoting AJ as a “four belt unified champion”. I don’t think they banned WBU fights either, they were still showing WBU fights on Warren shows up until the mid 2000’s when the WBU began to collapse.

Nobody ever remembers the WTF when alphabet titles are involved.

Had someone PM me asking why the IBO has dropped off. Sky Sports killed all of their momentum. The IBO was following a similar path to the WBO where it slowly gains steam, mainly in Europe where historically promoters have been more eager to feature unrecognized titles. Sky Sports then decided they would no longer broadcast IBO, WBU, etc fights. They only wanted the main four world titles and regional title bouts (British, Commonwealth, European, etc). Once Sky Sports made that rule, the IBO lost all of their momentum and have never recovered. For a while, Frank Warren was backing the WBU while Eddie Hearn was backing the IBO and WBF. The head of Sky Sports deciding to ban the WBU, IBO and WBF essentially crippled those three organizations.

You're still showing your face? Remember when you said fury-wilder wasn't happening and the idiot robbie proved you wrong? How heart broken were you when windmill got stopped? You have a strange memory. Robbie was insisting Wilder didn't want to fight Fury. You have things backwards.