JANUARY 16, 2026, SAN FRANCISCO – 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.
Hosting both the World Cup and the Superbowl in 2026, San Francisco was selected as a host city for iVB’s World-Championship boxing event because it reflects iVB’s commitment to fan-first, live sport. The city’s history of cultural reinvention across music, technology and civic life makes it an appropriate setting for a new approach to global sporting events. The world-record event will integrate local food vendors, music, cultural institutions and the San Francisco boxing community into a fan-first experience. This creates a model in which fans and local communities are active participants rather than simply spectators. iVB is re-establishing World-Championship boxing as a more accessible and inclusive public event, rooted in fan-first experiences with its audience.
“This world-record attempt will belong to San Francisco,” said Pereira. “It belongs to its fans, its fighters and its communities.”
iVB has also unveiled a multi-fight deal with YouTube, which will serve as the global streaming platform for this series of iVB’s Iconic World-Championship boxing events. Powered by the reach of YouTube’s 2.7 billion monthly users, iVB will create the largest boxing audience in the history of the sport. With YouTube’s support, iVB will prioritize fan access by removing traditional limitations of distribution, instead allowing global audiences to participate in boxing’s most significant World-Championship events. This reflects a growing focus on ensuring major live cultural moments are more widely accessible to global audiences. On the heels of its deal with YouTube, the company also signed with leading global talent, entertainment, sports and advisory company UTA for representation in all areas.
iVB CEO, Ed Pereira, stated, “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.”
