The World Boxing Organization is ceasing all activity until at least June 15 and the annual conference scheduled for October is up in the air because of the COVID-19 pandemic, WBO president Francisco Valcarcel told ESPN.
All fights, transactions, release of rankings and other administrative actions will be frozen through mid-June, and Valcarcel said he doubts any big boxing cards can take place until the end of 2020.
“At the moment, we continue to work from home until at least mid-June,” he said. “The rankings on our website will remain as is until then.”
Valcarcel also expressed concern over whether his big-name boxers — such as Canelo Alvarez, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua — will see the ring again this year, given restrictions on mass gatherings.
“I think the fans are an essential part of boxing,” Valcarcel said. “Even if boxing is a TV event, the fights that are of most interest to the public … I don’t think we’ll be able to see them this year, at least not until we can have fans. For us to have fans, we need a vaccine. It’s a complicated thing.”
Valcarcel continued: “They say they might be able to fight in August or September, but I have my doubts. The fans are key. We must sacrifice money or time waiting on a vaccine. Promoters are going to have to give up money if they want to do it before that.”
WBO attorney Gustavo Olivieri told ESPN that all rankings will remain unchanged, dating to the latest batch released on March 18, through June 15 or until further notice.
“We don’t have a set schedule for when boxing starts again,” Olivieri said.
Olivieri explained that rankings are released on a monthly basis, taking into account a boxer’s record, period of activity and other criteria from the WBO and the Association of Boxing Commissions. Those rankings are then published online.
The freeze could extend beyond bouts and rankings, with the WBO discussing a possible cancellation of the annual convention scheduled for Oct. 26-30 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We are considering other options because we have elections coming up, and we need for them to allow us to extend the term,” he said.