Boxing through much of the 1800's was in disarray, but near the end of the 19th century an eccentric inventor/writer named HG Wells pulled the governing bodies of the world together to create the World Boxing Association.
The WBA board was made up of representatives of the major regional organizations, all with their own titles.
NABF - Governs North and South America
USBA - A companion to the NABF, but governs the USA only
EBU - All of Europe and the middle east
UKBC - Restricted to the United Kingdom only
PBC - Governs all of the pacific rim
Fearing for the safety of smaller pugilists, the WBA banned all fighters under 175 pounds, as it feared only the heartiest should be allowed to compete. All who met this qualification were considered able bodied and included men whom the mysterious Mr. Wells claimed to have procured through his patented time machine. A claim that for the most part was merely humored by his peers, though some considered it to have merit.
The initial WBA World Rankings were released at the beginning of January and through the vote of the board, Gerry Cooney and Francesco Damiani were selected to compete for the inaugural World Title, while an elimination bout between Sam Langford and John Tate would decide the winners first challenger.
| | | | | | | |
| Initial World Rankings | W | L | D | KO | Def | |
| WC | Vacant | | | | | | |
| 1 | Francesco Damiani | 30 | 0 | 0 | 28 | | |
| 2 | Sam Langford | 29 | 1 | 0 | 25 | | |
| 3 | Michael Spinks | 19 | 0 | 0 | 16 | | |
| 4 | Gerry Cooney | 25 | 1 | 0 | 22 | | |
| 5 | John Tate | 25 | 1 | 0 | 21 | | |
| 6 | Oscar Bonavena | 23 | 2 | 0 | 21 | | |
| 7 | Sam McVey | 23 | 2 | 0 | 22 | | |
| 8 | Jack Gardner | 23 | 0 | 0 | 23 | | |
| 9 | Bill Squires | 27 | 3 | 1 | 22 | | |
| 10 | Larry Donald | 24 | 1 | 0 | 16 | | |
| 11 | Bearcat Wright | 18 | 2 | 1 | 13 | | |
| 12 | Zeljko Mavrovic | 30 | 1 | 2 | 25 | | |
| 13 | Earl Walls | 23 | 0 | 0 | 17 | | |
| 14 | Elmer Ray | 19 | 2 | 0 | 18 | | |
| 15 | Oliver McCall | 15 | 1 | 0 | 13 | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Regional Champions | | | | | Def | |
| NABF | Michael Spinks | 19 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| EBU | Len Harvey | 17 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 | |
| PBC | Bill Squires | 27 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 0 | |
| USBA | Elmer Ray | 19 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| UKBC | Joe Goss | 20 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| | | | | | | |
Rules:
This will be random debut, (my favorite style) Heavyweights only, starting in 1900 with a pre-built history. It will be run in between my interactive Fantasy Boxing League posts. Updates will include two 'feature' fights per month, with other results from around the world listed as well. Rankings will be released quarterly and careers can last between 30-140 fights.
I will solicit feedback take votes on what year(s) to import as rookies at the beginning of each game year.