International Boxing Union (since 1996) World Super Middleweight title fights of Scott "The Sandman" Pemberton and Omar Sheika that became ESPN2's "Fight of the Year" in 2003 and 2004. On 7 April 2012, 7-time multiple weight class World Champion James Toney captured the vacant IBU World Heavyweight championship with a TKO over World Heavyweight Bare Knuckle Championship Holder Bobby Gunn. International Boxing Union (since 1996) The International Boxing Union (IBU) is a professional boxing sanctioning body founded in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, in 1996. It is unrelated to the International Boxing Union, based in Europe, which operated until the Second World War. Although the IBU
Undisputed champion between 1880 and 1920. Once a consensus champion had been awarded the title, the championship could usually be taken only by beating the reigning holder, establishing a lineal championship. The New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) recognized champions from its foundation in 1920. The National Boxing Association (NBA) was founded by other U.S. state bodies in 1921, and began recognising champions in 1927. Until the 1960s, both usually recognised the same lineal champion. However, disputes could arise if the champion retired or moved to a different weight class. Occasionally, the International Boxing Union (renamed the European Boxing Union in 1946)