Who "legitimized" the WBO?

[gnostic19]

If i remember right, Holmes gave credence to the IBF by fighting for and winning their title when he was in his prime. Again, if my memory serves me was it DLH that fought for and won a WBO belt when he was a lightweight and thus put that organization on the map?

[Dye]

Camacho? i dont know

[Nautilus]

In HW division, Vitaliy Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Wladimir Kltischko, and Lamon Brewster have legitimized the WBO belt.

[gnostic19]

oh yeah...him too. ****, i tried to forget everything about that dude.

[neils7147933]

Wasn't it HBO and Showtime and publications acknowledging it as a world title belt that did it?

DLH having the belt in the mid 90s probably helped its cause.

The WBA LOSING legitimacy probably helped it recently, as well as unification matches where the WBO champion wins over one of the other big 3 like in Corrales-Castillo I or Calzaghe-Lacy

[cupcrazy01]

Well, when Wlad Klitschko was the WBO Heavy champ during Lennox's reign, you didn't hear very many people saying there was more than one champion, but then he lost it to Sanders, go it back somehow and then lost it again to Brewster...then it was a legit piece of the heavyweight title? I was confused by this and still am...

[gnostic19]

It was well-known a couple of years before that, though. But yeah, they have helped to secure it as a recognized organization...whatever that's worth.

[Nautilus]

In HW division, Vitaliy Klitschko, Chris Byrd, Wladimir Kltischko, and Lamon Brewster have legitimized the WBO belt.

... and probably Sergei Liakovich.

[mECHsLAVE]

I agree with most mentioned, plus Michalczewski as the reigning WBO champ at 175, unified the WBA and IBF to go with his WBO, and when the sanctioning bodies played dirty pool and stripped him immediately, then the WBO title became THE title at LHW for many years, and is still to this day technically the linear champion (Erdei).

[Abe Attell]

I think it might have been George Foreman, though I may be wrong: wasn't this the only belt he kept after giving up the other belts so that he wouldn't have to fight the number #1 contenders of the other belts? I might be wrong though since I can't keep track of all these alphabet belts...if correct, at least in America...in Europe, not sure, everybody seems to favor this belt so they didn't have to fight Americans , except of course LENNOX LEWIS