STORY 010 — THE WBC GREEN BELT
THE STRAP THAT BECAME THE SHAPE OF A WORLD CHAMPION
Green leather, a gold centre, and the flags of the world around it.
A Council Born in Mexico City
The World Boxing Council was founded on 14 February 1963. It was set up at the initiative of Adolfo López Mateos, then President of Mexico, who invited boxing authorities from around the world to Mexico City. The aim was a single international body to bring national commissions together and regulate a sport that was spreading fast.
The WBC lists eleven founding nations, among them the United States, Argentina, England, France, Mexico, the Philippines, Panama and Brazil. Some secondary accounts give a slightly longer list. Mexico City remains the council's home.
Before the Green
The council's first championship belt looked nothing like the one known today. By the WBC's own account, it was a silver plate on a black velvet sash. Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, José Nápoles and Miguel Canto all held titles in that era.
1976: Green and Gold
The change came in 1976. The WBC says its second-generation belt, the first made with Adidas, was unveiled that year and that it "firmly established" the green-and-gold concept. The council credits the design to its president, José Sulaimán, and the Italian Piero Pini.
The date is supported outside the WBC. An auction record for Muhammad Ali's own green WBC belt dates it to 1976 and notes photographs of Ali wearing it after his win over Richard Dunn on 24 May that year. That same catalogue names a French maker for the leather, so accounts of who built the first green belt differ.
A Belt Made of Flags
The flags arrived in stages. The WBC says its third-generation belt added two rows of national flags around the logo, with medallions of Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis on the strap. In 2000, a fourth version carried three rows of flags to represent the 165 countries then affiliated with the council.
The current belt surrounds its central plate with the flags of every United Nations member state, along with Puerto Rico, the Vatican and Palestine. The WBC describes the green as a symbol of every boxer's hope of rising through the sport.
The Sulaimán Years
José Sulaimán was elected WBC president on 5 December 1975 and led the council until his death on 16 January 2014, at 82. Guinness World Records lists his 38 years in office as the longest presidency of any global sports organisation. The green belt was launched in his first full year and carried his signature for nearly four decades.
His son, Mauricio Sulaimán, was elected unanimously in February 2014 to succeed him. He had joined the WBC in 1992 and served as executive secretary from 2004. Under his leadership the council has issued special commemorative belts for major fights.
Why the Green Belt Stuck
The timing mattered. The green belt arrived as boxing became a global television product, worn by Ali, Larry Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard, Alexis Argüello and later Julio César Chávez and Mike Tyson. A single, unmistakable colour, repeated across every weight class and every decade, made the WBC title easy to recognise in a photograph from any distance.
The belt has been redesigned four times since 1976, by the WBC's own count, but the green has never changed. That consistency is why, for many fans, a green strap over the shoulder is simply what a world champion looks like.
The Legacy
More than sixty years after the council's founding, the green belt is one of the most reproduced objects in boxing, on posters, murals and shirts far outside any arena. It started as a sanctioning body's prize and became a shorthand for the top of the sport.
Fight Heritage
The story before the piece.
Selected and edited by: Fight Heritage
Pieces from this story
Boxelite — Champion | Black Tee
Sources
1. WBC History — wbcboxing.com
2. The Evolution of Our WBC Championship Belt (WBC, 2026) — wbcboxing.com
3. World Boxing Council — Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org
4. Muhammad Ali's WBC Championship Belt (Lelands auction record) — lelands.com
5. Jose Sulaiman, longtime president of World Boxing Council, dies at 82 (AP via Fox News, 16 Jan 2014) — foxnews.com
6. Longest serving president of a global sports organisation — Guinness World Records — guinnessworldrecords.com
7. Mauricio Sulaiman becomes head of WBC (AP via The Washington Times, 11 Feb 2014) — washingtontimes.com