Beyond the arena: iVB unveils a historic shift aiming to break world championship boxing attendance

Boxing continues to stretch boundaries, with the best fighting the best, and events taking place in iconic locations. iVB has announced its intention to bring boxing back to the people and break the world record for the highest attended world-championship boxing event.

iVB announces groundbreaking agreement

The iVB press release began with: iVB, a leading live Sports Entertainment organization, has today announced an ambitious plan to break the Guinness World Record for the highest attended World-Championship boxing event in the sports history. The current record stands at 135,132, set in 1941 when Tony Zale defended his middleweight title against Billy Pryor in Milwaukee. 

On July 11, 2026, iVB aims to shatter that number at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco – a landmark public space managed by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department – transforming the heart of the city into the largest open-air boxing event ever. iVB CEO, Ed Pereira, joined by San Francisco Mayor, Daniel Lurie, will officially unveil the plan at 1PM (PST) on January 16, 2026, across from the steps of Civic Center Plaza. It marks the beginning of what iVB calls a new era of fan-first boxing.

“This world-record attempt will belong to San Francisco,” said iVB CEO Pereira. “It belongs to its fans, its fighters and its communities.”

This intriguing move by iVB also sees them unveil a multi-fight deal with YouTube, which will be the global streaming platform for this series of World-Championship boxing events.

“San Francisco’s commitment to community and public engagement reflects iVB’s belief that boxing should be built around its fans. Through our streaming platform, YouTube, we are expanding the access to the most important live sporting cultural moments. 

“San Francisco, therefore, is helping shape a more open and inclusive future for boxing. We look forward to working with the City of San Francisco and YouTube’s team to deliver the most iconic, record breaking live boxing event in the sport’s history,” added Pereira.

Potential headline fight for iVB boxing event

Many outlets are reporting that Oleksandr Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) is being targeted to headline the iVB card in San Francisco, with Deontay Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KOs) mentioned as a likely opponent.

Discussing his desire to have Usyk headlining for iVB, Pereira told ESPN:

“Many years ago boxing was the biggest sport in the world, boxers were paid more than Babe Ruth in America at the time, and the heavyweight champion was the king of the world,” Pereira told ESPN.

“We want to try and bring that back where everyone knows who the world heavyweight champion is.

“Many, many years ago you could stop a granny in the street whether it was in Bolton in England or Washington DC, and they would know who the heavyweight champion of the world is. Now you stop not a granny but anyone else and they will be very rarely able to tell you who the heavyweight champion of the world is, even though Usyk is a generational great. That I think is a shame.”

Revealing his determination to stage such a historic event, Pereira said:

“We are willing to put on the biggest fight and pay a fair amount for those fights,” Pereira told ESPN.

“Whoever fights on that card in San Francisco will be a world record holder.

“We are working with a couple of promoters at the moment [for the fight on July 11] but we aren’t announcing the fighters right now. We are working to put that card together now. We will make it affordable or free to attend and we aim to break the record for a crowd, which is a really big challenge. The majority of fans will be free.”

Who would you like to see on the July 11 card, and are iVB a welcome addition to the boxing world?