(From BoxingScene news)
FORT WORTH, Texas – In a united defense to the attempted alterations of the federal regulations protecting boxers, the World Boxing Organization and International Boxing Federation will stage a first-ever joint convention in the fall of 2026 to emphasize why their belts matter, BoxingScene learned Friday.
Expecting the new Saudi Arabian-funded promotion Zuffa Boxing to win Congressional approval for new regulations that will allow the promotion to rank its own fighters and award its own belts while bypassing the financial disclosure rules that currently exist, the American-based sanctioning bodies will also launch an aggressive campaign to educate fighters how gaining a title belt increases their earnings in boxing’s currently free market.
Zuffa Boxing head Dana White, the CEO and President of UFC, said his new promotion does not intend to work with the four major sanctioning bodies and major promoters.
The WBO-IBF convention will likely occur in Orlando, Florida, one official told BoxingScene. A formal announcement is expected to arrive next week.
Last month, the WBO staged its annual convention in Bogota, Colombia, and the IBF is scheduled to conduct theirs in Vietnam this spring.
The 2026 joint convention will feature unification bouts between WBO and IBF champions, who will most likely wear the North American or International version of the bodies’ belts.
The WBO and IBF will conduct joint seminars and awards sessions together at the event while working between now and then for lobbying assistance to retain – or restore – the federal protections in place for boxers.
At this point, the WBA and WBC, which have accepted sponsorship funds from Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, are not part of next year’s affair.
Staging the joint convention in the U.S. and making it open to the public is imperative to effectively expose and resist the planned changes being sought by Zuffa Boxing, an official involved in the cause said.
Bacolod's Genesis Servania will fight China's rising star Aketelieti Yelejian for the WBO Asia Lightweight title this November.
The highly-anticipated match up will take place on the undercard of the IBF world title fight between Pedro Taduran and Zhu DianXing at Jeju Island, South Korea.
Aketelieti Yelejian, who suffered a narrow loss to the Prince Albert Pagara in June, rebounded with an impressive IBF Asia victory against Korean Jin Su Kim in Vietnam recently. He is a very rangy and deceptive boxer known for his relaxed combinations, and he's supremely confident in his ability to take down Servania and claim the title.
"I've studied Servania's style, and I know I have the skills to outmaneuver him," Yelejian said yesterday.
"I'm excited to represent China on the international stage once more, and bring home an impressive win against a top and proven boxer like Genesis."
Servania, a seasoned veteran with a 35-4 record, boasts a reputation for toughness that has come from battles at the top level. And has still possesses some of the best body shots in the sport of boxing.
This important title shot gives the filipino the opportunity to re-establish himself on the world scene once more, and it's best remembered that his only defeats have came against world-ranked champions like Oscar Valdez and Andres Cortes.
But the China team have already confidently stated that Yelejian's youth, speed, height, and reach may all prove too much for the Filipino boxer.
Their optimism also exudes for the world title bout, where surprisingly, they are quite dismissive of Pedro Taduran's hopes of beating star Zhu DianXing. They actually rate their boxer so highly, they have predicted that the champion has no chance of retaining the belt.
These claims set up an intriguing backdrop for two massive Philippines v China feature bouts.
Fight Details :
- Date: Saturday, November 23rd
- Location: Jeju Island, South Korea
- Title: WBO Asia Lightweight
- Contenders: Aketelieti Yelejian (China) vs. Genesis Servania (Philippines)
