Sanctioning Bodies and Weight Divisions


Sanctioning Organizations of the FCBA

 

In the early days of the FCBA, there existed a plethora of different sanctioning organizations, each competing for their slice of the market share.  Many different groups, such as Fox, Universal Studios, MTV, and Sports Illustrated, recognized the natural appeal and popularity of female celebrity boxing and sought to capitalize on it as much as possible.  The tradition of these separate lineages dates back to the golden age of Hollywood, when film and television studios would promote their own in-house champions and matches.  As one might expect, there was little consensus between these organizations due to the competitive nature of the process, as each tried to tout their own champion and marginalize the fighters of other groups.

 

As the FCBA coalesced into a more well-defined and structured organization around 2000, many of these different bodies and title lineages were discontinued.  Only three managed to survive with their official recognition intact - Maxim, Paramount, and Reebok, for example.  Currently, these three (3) sanctioning bodies have been dissolved and now all exist under the official approval guidelines of the FCBA.  

 

While there only remain four (4) lineal titles - one for each of the existing weight classes which will be further discussed below - there are many other belts or titles that are officially recognized such as the Mistress of the Body Saddle, upcoming Empress of the Body Saddle, the Jugs of Mass Destruction championship, JMDD Championship, Queen of the Ice Hotel title, Princess of the Ice Hotel, Queen of the Beach, Princess of the Beach, Jaguar and Cougar Titles.  All of these have been approved to provide more fighters opportunities to hold titles as the FCBA continues to expand.    

 

Weight Divisions of the FCBA

 

In a similar respect to the nature of sanctioning bodies, the FCBA's weight divisions were also not well defined in its early days.  This too is a callback to the traditions of Hollywood studio fights of a bygone era - name recognition held a lopsided share of the motivation in matchmaking in those days, and fights were acceptable as long as two celebrities were generally of similar physical size.  The grand restructuring of the FCBA changed this, and since 2000 there have existed four well-defined weight divisions in the FCBA:

 

Originally, Welterweight cut off at an upper limit of 140 lbs, and a fifth weight division, Middleweight, existed for all fighters above that cutoff.  However, Middleweight was discontinued in 2004 due to a lack of active competitors.  It was merged with Welterweight, which has held its present definition ever since.

 

Weight Division Weight Recommendations Height Recommendations
Flyweight 110 Lbs.  5'4 and below.
Bantamweight 120 Lbs.  5'5 - 5'7'
Lightweight 130 Lbs. 5'8 - 5'9'
Welterweight Above 130 Lbs. 5'10 and above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We do want to stress that the above are simply guidelines.   There have been and will continue to be fighters who do not fit into any of these categories as defined, but we'll work to ensure that we find a place where each fighter can be competitive within the FCBA.  Weight is notoriously unreliable on the internet, so height is usually a much better method but there are always exceptions.   Also, it's appropriate to consider a height range as some fighters may be able to participate in a slightly different category for example, despite their height depending on their body type/weight, so there are always exceptions.  There are also opportunities for catchweight fights as just because fighters might exist in a different weight class, it doesn't mean that you can't see your dream fight.   These are just guidelines and not rules, as each new fighter can be a discussion on the best situation for them.  It's a supportive community here in the FCBA and we want everyone to feel empowered to participate with the fighters you want to see!