Wikipedia:WikiProject Boxing/MOSGuidelines

This is a style guide for biographical articles about professional and amateur boxers, as established by consensus among participants of WikiProject Boxing. For suggestions, questions or feedback on these guidelines, please post a message at the project talk page.

It is highly recommended that articles about boxers follow the structure outlined below to ensure consistency across Wikipedia, as well as adherence to biographies of living persons. The purpose of this guide is to standardise the use of various formats including infoboxes, weight classes, sanctioning body titles, article prose, record tables, succession boxes, and categories.

Infobox
An article should ideally begin with infobox boxer. Alternatively, infobox martial artist can be used if a boxer has competed at least once in MMA or kickboxing, or if their amateur boxing record is reliably sourced, but this should not replace without discussion at the article talk page.

).
 * name
 * The name by which a boxer is best known within mainstream English-language media, excluding middle names in most cases.
 * Per WP:COMMONNAME, check whether or not middle names should be used: Marco Antonio Barrera or Julio César Chávez, but not Marcos René Maidana or Sergio Gabriel Martínez.
 * image
 * Use an image if available (check Commons), in accordance with Wikipedia's image policies.
 * For images containing large amounts of lightness or completely white space, use  at the end of the filename extension: Filename.jpg
 * caption
 * Last name only, and year if known: Holmes in 1997 or Foreman at [event], 2011. Sentence fragments should not use a closing period, per WP:CAPFRAG.
 * If the image includes an opponent, use only the opponent's last name for brevity and pipe-link if possible: Frazier (left), vs. Ali, 1974
 * realname
 * Full name, including middle or other names, but leave blank if it is the same as that of the name field. Consider using nowrap if the name slightly exceeds the width of the infobox.
 * nicknames
 * List any verifiable nicknames, separated using plainlist rather than line breaks (  or
 * For non-English nicknames, use italics, and if possible, provide a translation using quotes within brackets: El Flaco Explosivo ("The Explosive Thin Man"). Line breaks can be used in this instance, rather than a separate bullet.
 * weight
 * List all weight classes in which they have notably competed, separated using plainlist and starting with the lightest first.
 * If they have only competed a few times at a certain weight, with neither a major nor minor title at stake, do not include it. If at least a minor title was at stake for one fight, include that weight class.
 * The various boxing sanctioning bodies each have their own naming format for weight classes, but Wikipedia's own article titles should be used in this field. For more on this usage, including formatting details such as case and hyphenation, see the Lead section below.
 * The actual weight figure in brackets should not be included: Bantamweight (118 lbs)
 * height
 * This field autoconverts the figure without the need for conversion templates: 5 ft 11 in or 1.80 m, depending on regional unit preference. If their height is disputed, BoxRec is usually a sufficient source, but a tale of the tape from recent fights (always specify the network) may be better: Showtime Championship Boxing tale of the tape prior to the Opponent fight.
 * reach
 * Same as above, except use inches instead of feet and centimetres instead of metres: 182 cm or 71+1/2 in. The latter results in "71½ in".
 * nationality
 * Their current citizenship or nationality, but only if different from their country of birth, per WP:INFONAT.
 * Do not link to commonly known nationalities such as American, Russian, British, Mexican, Canadian, Australian, German, etc., per WP:OVERLINK.
 * For less commonly known nationalities, linking may be used: U.S. Virgin Islander, Guinean, Surinamese, Myanma.
 * Nationalities in which the spelling changes accordingly may also be linked: Filipino.
 * Do not link to articles about ethnicity, such as Filipino or Nigerian, per WP:INFONAT.
 * Flag icons must not be used, per WP:INFOBOXFLAG.
 * Multiple nationalities should be separated with plainlist.
 * birth_name
 * If they have legally changed their name from their birth name to their current one.
 * birth_date
 * Include either birth date and age or birth date. To force DMY format, use.
 * birth_place
 * City, state, country (including former country names, in the case of boxers born in the Soviet Union or East Germany).
 * style
 * Use either Orthodox or Southpaw, but not specialised techniques such as Switch hitter or Peek-a-boo; the latter are not stances.
 * losses
 * Omit "0" even if they are undefeated, as this is rendered redundant by the total field. Same for draws and no contests; only fill them in when "1" or more applies.
 * medaltemplates
 * If they have won medals at notable amateur events, include medal on a new line below the field.
 * Note that flag icons should be used in this field only, as amateur boxers explicitly represent nationalities or national teams.
 * Remove the field entirely if they never won any medals.
 * For brevity, shorten World Amateur Boxing Championships to World Championships, and European Amateur Boxing Championships to European Championships.

Lead section
The lead section should include basic information about a boxer and an overview of their notable accomplishments. Below are several examples depending on whether a boxer has held a world/regional title, if they are a multi-weight world champion, whether they are active or retired, when they competed, if they are living or dead, if their name uses a foreign script, the use of nicknames, or which variety of English is preferable.

Former boxers
An example lead section with just about everything wrong:

General guidelines

 * If a boxer is no longer active, list the year ranges when they competed: ... competed from 1998 to 2005 if they had a steady career without long gaps, or ... competed between 2000 and 2011 if they spent many years out of the sport; e.g., George Foreman.
 * Use former professional boxer instead of retired professional boxer, as a retired athlete may still be in various forms of employment regardless of their age.
 * It is not necessary to pipe link professional boxer or amateur boxer, as this is discouraged by WP:NOTBROKEN and MOS:NOPIPE. Also avoid splitting links: professional boxer.
 * Undefeated records for active boxers should not be emphasised, per WP:PEA and WP:PROMO. The infobox presents such statistics with a more neutral point of view.
 * If a boxer retired or died undefeated, particularly if they held a major world title at the time, link to the list of undefeated boxing world champions article.
 * Notable wins or opponents should usually not be included in the lead section, as that does not represent a concise overview of the article; it does not present a neutral point of view; and there is no objective way to determine what makes a victory notable. If it is believed that a single notable victory should be added for a specific boxer, discuss it first on the article's talk page or on the talk page of this WikiProject to determine by consensus whether or not that information should go in the lead section.
 * Trainers, promoters or managers should usually not be listed, per WP:PROMO, but can be mentioned in the Professional career section if they are relevant.

Nationalities

 * As with the infobox, avoid pipe linking to commonly known nationalities such as American, Mexican, etc.
 * If a boxer holds dual nationalities, relevant articles may be linked: Armenian German, Haitian American, British Canadian, Greek Australian, etc.
 * Do not link to such articles if a boxer is no longer a citizen of their country of birth; only link to the nationalities they currently represent.
 * Ethnicity, besides country of citizenship, should not be mentioned in this section, per MOS:BLPLEAD. They are better placed in the Early life or Personal life sections.
 * For former boxers, use [Nationality] former professional boxer instead of the nonsensical former [Nationality] professional boxer, as boxers are unlikely to be made stateless.

Nicknames

 * If they are exceptionally well known by their nickname, such as James "Buster" Douglas, Donovan "Razor" Ruddock or Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, then that can be included as part of the opening sentence.
 * In almost every other case, state their nickname afterwards and expand upon it if there is an interesting story to tell. For more on the general usage of nicknames, see MOS:LEADALT.

Titles

 * It is best practice to avoid the use of "current" for titleholders, per MOS:REALTIME. Where possible, try to use ... has held the IBF lightweight title since... rather than ... is the current IBF lightweight champion, although this becomes less feasible for unified titles won in different years.
 * For past title reigns, use year ranges except for the current year; for title reigns beginning or ending in the current year, use month ranges.
 * If a boxer has challenged for—but not won—a world, interim, European, British, or Commonwealth title, mention how many times and at which weight class.
 * If they have never won a world title but have defeated a significant number of past or future world champions, then that can be mentioned for notability.

Sanctioning body, weight class and championship formatting
These are the formats used by the four main sanctioning bodies, The Ring magazine, the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB), and Wikipedia's own articles:

Weight classes

 * For weight classes composed of two words, do not use hyphens if a boxer is based within anywhere in the world except the United Kingdom and Canada: light heavyweight.
 * If a boxer is based within the UK and Canada, two-word weight classes should be hyphenated: super-middleweight.
 * Weight classes are not proper nouns (see MOS:CAPS and MOS:TITLE), regardless of how the sanctioning bodies list them on their websites, therefore they must always be written in lower case: super welterweight, not Super Welterweight.
 * The same applies to the words "title", "champion[ship]", "world", "unified", "undisputed", and "interim"; use lower case only. For more on this usage, see MOS:JOBTITLES.
 * Exceptions include the in-house names of certain titles by sanctioning bodies: Continental, International, Inter-Continental, Silver, Super, Regular, Unified, Undisputed, Asia Pacific, Pan Pacific, Latino, Fedelatin, Junior, etc. The weight classes themselves must still be in lower case.
 * Lineal championships, and general use of the term "lineal", must be written in lower case and without italics: lineal, not Lineal.

World title terminology
If a boxer has won a title by only one sanctioning body in a weight class: If a boxer has won titles by multiple sanctioning bodies which use different formats for the same weight class: If a boxer has won titles by multiple sanctioning bodies which share the same weight class format: Other major or non-world level sanctioning bodies: IBO, EBU , BBBofC , CBC.
 * Check the comparison table above or the website of that sanctioning body to see which format they use, then reproduce it using lower case.
 * Therefore, use the sanctioning body-specific WBO junior heavyweight rather than WBO cruiserweight, as the redirect—junior heavyweight (boxing)—will point to the same article.
 * Likewise, use WBC super lightweight or IBF junior welterweight rather than light welterweight.
 * Wikipedia's own neutral article names (which are in accordance with amateur boxing) should be invoked so as to avoid cruft and confusion: WBC and IBF light middleweight instead of WBC super welterweight and IBF junior middleweight. Uninformed readers may interpret the latter to mean two different weight classes.
 * Wherever necessary, entire articles should be retroactively edited to reflect this: if a boxer holding the WBA super lightweight title later wins the WBO junior welterweight title, both formats must be consolidated to light welterweight only, which is how Wikipedia's own article is named.
 * They can be used together: WBA and WBC super bantamweight or IBF, WBO, and The Ring magazine junior featherweight.
 * In the lead section and article body, most sanctioning bodies should be fully worded on the first mention: World Boxing Association (WBA). They can be abbreviated in tables and succession boxes.
 * Exceptions include European instead of European Boxing Union or EBU; British instead of British Boxing Board of Control or BBBofC; and Commonwealth instead of Commonwealth Boxing Council or CBC.
 * For the lead section, do not link to Wikipedia's lists of champions by sanctioning body: IBF flyweight. This is because simplicity must be retained for any readers unaware of boxing terminology and individual title histories. The sanctioning body and weight class should instead be linked separately: International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight.
 * This also applies to other list articles such as list of heavyweight boxing champions and list of undisputed boxing champions; they should be linked as undisputed champion.
 * In later sections containing more detail, namely Professional boxing record and Titles in boxing, the aforementioned lists of champions by sanctioning body should be used.
 * To separate sanctioning bodies within prose or lists, use commas along with "and": WBA, WBC, and IBF. Not WBA, WBC & IBF or WBA/WBC/IBF.
 * When referring to a specific sanctioning body, use title instead of championship for brevity. Also avoid the overly verbose champion[ship] of the world.
 * Avoid using "world" after a sanctioning body: WBC world super featherweight title. This is redundant in that the WBA, WBC, and WBO already have "World" in their names, and they should be assumed to be world titles by default unless otherwise specified as regional titles.
 * For active former champions, use ... is a former... instead of ... the former...; boxers are a former champion within a title's ongoing history, one of many, not the only champion.
 * If a boxer has won a world (not interim) title in two weight classes, this can be expressed with a piped link: world champion in two weight classes.
 * For more than two weight classes, link to the articles for either triple, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple, septuple, or octuple champion to convey the significance: world champion in three weight classes or He/she has won world titles in five different weight classes.
 * If a boxer holds world (not interim) titles by multiple sanctioning bodies, list them in the order of their establishment: WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO lightweight.
 * Interim titles (and their sanctioning bodies) should be listed after full world titles: IBF, WBO, and WBC interim middleweight.
 * IBO titles should be listed after interim titles, followed by any regional titles by the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO.
 * The Ring titles should be listed after all sanctioning bodies.
 * Undisputed titles should be listed after The Ring, followed by lineal titles.
 * Lastly comes European, British, then Commonwealth.
 * When listing previously held titles, start with the lightest weight class first: ... the WBC featherweight, IBF and WBO junior featherweight, and Ring magazine lightweight titles.
 * Disregard the above if listing the year ranges when titles were held: ... held the WBA cruiserweight title in 1999, and previously the WBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight titles from 2001 to 2004.
 * If a boxer holds two or more titles by the four main sanctioning bodies (not the IBO or Ring), include "unified" to convey the significance; ... the unified WBC and IBF mini flyweight titles.

Regional, interim titles and other usage

 * For interim titles, pipe link using interim.
 * When invoking sanctioning bodies, use [sanctioning body] interim [weight class] instead of interim [sanctioning body] [weight class]: WBO interim lightweight title.
 * WP:SEAOFBLUE tends to be unavoidable with strings such as "WBC interim heavyweight title".
 * Affiliated regional organisations such as the NABA, USNBC, or NABO should be linked separately to the main organisation, with a dash (–): WBA–NABA, WBC–USBNC, WBO–NABO.
 * WBC "Silver" title:
 * – "WBC Silver"

... redirects to World Boxing Council


 * WBC "Diamond" title:
 * – "WBC Diamond"

... redirects to World Boxing Council


 * WBC "Emeritus" title:
 * – "WBC Emeritus"

... redirects to World Boxing Council


 * WBA "Super" and other titles:
 * – "WBA (Super)"
 * – "WBA (Regular)"
 * – "WBA (Unified)"
 * – "WBA (Undisputed)"

... all redirect to World Boxing Association


 * WBO "Super" title:
 * – "WBO Super champion"

... redirects to World Boxing Organization

Lineal championships
There is no single canonical list of lineal champions. Do not include the lineal championship in lists of champions, record tables or succession boxes. Lineal champions are a point of view and should follow the neutral point of view policy:
 * Avoid stating it as a fact. A lineal championship is an opinion and should not be stated in Wikipedia's voice.
 * Avoid undue weight by not including lineal championships in lead sections unless it is a widely held viewpoint; i.e, a range of sources are needed than just the lists at Cyber Boxing Zone or the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.

Early life
This section should outline a boxer's life prior to getting involved with the sport. Include the details of their childhood: place of birth, schools attended, sibling information or parents' occupation is optional. Trainers with whom they worked, as well as boxing gyms attended, should be included here. Recent details such as information on the fighter's other careers, their marriage(s), children, pets, etc. should go in the Life after boxing/Personal life section instead. All content must be reliably referenced.

Amateur career
If a boxer fought as an amateur, list any highlights, notable opponents, and fight record if reliably sourced. Also describe any participation at such events as the World Amateur Boxing Championships, Summer Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, European Amateur Boxing Championships, Pan American Games, United States national amateur boxing championships, GB Amateur Boxing Championships, AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships, etc.

Professional career
Describe a boxer's journey from their debut professional fight to their most recent one. Feel free to express your creativity and ignore all rules if you wish.

If their early career did not have many highlights, skip to their first regional title fights if applicable. If they had a long streak of KO/TKO wins early on, mention that as a point of interest. World title fights should be expanded upon in as much detail as possible, so as to ensure notability. Make sure everything is fully and reliably referenced, and adhere to a neutral point of view at all times. When naming opponents, mention if they are a former world champion or have amateur credentials, but do not include their nationality unless a fight was particularly notable as being part of a domestic or country vs. country rivalry.

As with the lead section, if a boxer has won multiple titles in the same weight class, default to Wikipedia's neutral naming format: "On November 7, 2002, [Boxer] won the WBC and IBF light welterweight titles"; avoid using "super lightweight" or "junior welterweight" for the rest of the section. If a boxer's professional career spans many years and comprises an assortment of highlights, consider separating the prose into subsections such as "2005–2008: lightweight world champion" or "2009–2011: first defeats and brief retirement". If they participated in a fight which has its own article, link to it using main article immediately beneath the section heading.

Accolades such as Fighter of the Year, Fight of the Year, Knockout of the Year, or Upset of the Year should be included using piped links: Fighter of the Year.

Trainers, promoters, and managers may be mentioned in this section if they are particularly relevant to the boxer's career.

Life after boxing/Personal life
If a boxer has led an eventful retirement, consider mentioning things such as:
 * Relationships or marriages
 * Community activities
 * Becoming a trainer themselves
 * Opening their own gym
 * Awards received
 * Health issues
 * Troubles with the law (must be reliably sourced to comply with biographies of living persons)

Professional boxing record
All boxers should ideally have two tables displaying both their professional record and a collapsible summary. BoxRec is usually the best source for detailed information, but for some fights there are often missing elements such as total rounds; round-end times; reasons for an unusual ending such as a TD, DQ, or NC; or incorrect result types (KO instead of TKO, etc.) Such details can be verified using video footage if available. Although references are not needed within the table, be prepared to provide one if challenged on anything in particular, especially if it contradicts BoxRec.

A fight should not be added to the record until after it has been verified to have taken place; it is not intended to be a schedule of events. Professional boxing fights are subject to cancellation on the same day, even if widely confirmed by promoters, TV networks or via press conferences. Speculative or potential fights absolutely must not be added, per WP:CRYSTAL; they can instead be mentioned using prose in the Professional career section above.

Fight records can be time-consuming to create, therefore they are not essential if an article is only in its early stages, or if a boxer is not particularly notable. However, a complete fight record is necessary for good article or featured article status.

Until 2016, almost all record tables used s-start, but this was deemed to be not best practice in accordance with WP:ACCESS. A migration to wikitable is ongoing, and all project members are encouraged to be proactive in carrying it out.

Another parameter in need of removal from most record tables is, which does not adhere to MOS:FONTSIZE (third paragraph) due to the numerous instances of small. Therefore, whenever editors see this:

... it should be changed to this:

Example record table
This is an example blank record with one empty fight slot and a summary box. Users who are new to editing are encouraged to experiment using their own sandbox in order to familiarise themselves with how it works. The fields can be modified or removed accordingly:

To add a single new fight slot, copy and paste the following: |-
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|
 * style="text-align:left;"|

... and place it immediately below

Below is an exhaustive example of a fictional record table, together with a summary box, with many different scenarios:

Usage
) are present.
 * For the first table, use Boxing record summary and input the various statistics which apply. Similarly to the infobox, leave any non-applicable fields blank instead of including a "0", or remove the fields entirely if the boxer has retired.
 * All links in the Location and Notes columns should begin from the bottom of the table, and only linked on the first instance without repeating. For more, see WP:OVERLINK.
 * Names in the Opponent column, in the case of rematches, are the only element which may be linked repeatedly.
 * Location and Notes should use the small template, as they contain the largest amount of text compared to the other columns.
 * No.
 * A boxer's total number of fights, in descending order (most recent on top).
 * Result
 * Use one of five different outcomes:
 * Win –
 * Loss –
 * Draw –
 * No contest –
 * Newspaper decision or draw –,  , or
 * Record
 * List a boxer's post-fight record, using a format of wins–losses–draws (no contests in brackets and small text), separated by unspaced en dashes (–).
 * When no contests apply, use nowrap: 29–3–1 (2)
 * For newspaper decisions or draws, use N/A, as they do not count towards their official record.
 * Opponent
 * Per this RfC, no flag icons should be included in professional boxing record tables.
 * Wiki-link only if an article exists; no red linking unless an article is guaranteed to be made soon.
 * Type
 * Use one of the many different outcomes:
 * "UD" – unanimous decision or unanimous draw
 * "SD" – split decision or split draw
 * "MD" – majority decision or majority draw
 * "PTS" – points decision or points draw
 * "NWS" – newspaper decision or newspaper draw; this result type will only apply to historical boxers from the early 1900s
 * "TD" – technical decision or technical draw
 * If judges' scorecards are available, clarify in the Notes column if the TD was unanimous, split, majority, or on referee points, along with the reason: Split TD: ...
 * "KO" – knockout
 * "TKO" – technical knockout
 * "RTD" – corner retirement
 * "DQ" – disqualification
 * "NC" – no contest
 * To let uninformed readers know what the abbreviations mean, use abbr to create hoverable tooltips starting from the bottom of the table on the first instance only:, which displays as "UD". This is essential to avoid confusion between the identically-named abbreviations.
 * Round(s), time
 * Round in which the fight ended; followed by the total number of scheduled rounds in brackets, if available; and the exact time of stoppage (time elapsed, not remaining) if available, using M:SS in small text and brackets. Do not use line breaks.
 * For decisions or draws which reached the full distance, the total rounds in brackets is redundant and should not be included.
 * Date
 * For most boxers, use either MDY or DMY formats (three-letter months: Jan 1, 2016 or 1 Jan 2016), or YYYY-MM-DD for Japanese boxers (e.g., 2016-01-01), per MOS:DATEFORMAT. Dashes (–) or forward slashes (/) should not be used.
 * If there is a separate article for the fight, or if a boxer fought on the undercard of an event which has an article, use a piped link: May 2, 2015.
 * Location
 * The abovementioned RfC regarding flag icons also applies here; they should not be included.
 * The order should be: venue, city/town/commune/municipality, state/province (U.S. and Canada only), and country; all separated by commas.
 * If the venue is not known, listing only the city—or at a bare minimum, country—is acceptable.
 * The unsponsored name of the venue should be primarily used where one exists and not the sponsored name at the time as per common name rules. If a venue does not have a common unsponsored name and/or the sponsored name (where there is no common unsponsored name) has since changed, use the name by which it was known at the time of the fight. There is usually no need to pipe link the current name, as Wikipedia's own redirect will usually handle it, or one can be manually created.
 * In general, if the article for a venue contains the city or state name in the title, use a pipe link to avoid redundancy: Liverpool Arena, England or Convention Center, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. or Ice Arena, Cardiff, Wales.
 * For arenas with the city name forming the first part of the article title, a pipe is not necessary: Bolton Arena or Boston Garden.
 * If possible, avoid describing the venue too broadly, such as a larger casino complex in which an arena is located. If there is an article for an arena within a venue, use that:
 * MGM Grand Garden Arena, not MGM Grand Las Vegas
 * The Joint, not Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas
 * Mohegan Sun Arena, not Mohegan Sun
 * The O2 Arena, not The O2
 * Several casino venues in Atlantic City are too broadly described by BoxRec, when they actually took place in arenas or halls. All of the following will correctly link or redirect to the corresponding articles:
 * Broadway by the Bay Theater (at Harrah's Marina Resort)
 * Etess Arena (at Trump Taj Mahal)
 * Circus Maximus Showroom (at Caesars Atlantic City)
 * Steel Pier (at Resorts International)
 * BoxRec almost always incorrectly lists the Atlantic City Convention Hall (known as Boardwalk Hall from May 1997 onwards) as the Atlantic City Convention Center. For fights occurring before May 1997, use a pipe link of Convention Hall.
 * Another mistake BoxRec sometimes makes is to refer to Bally's Park Place as the Atlantic City Convention Center. If in doubt, video footage may be needed to confirm such discrepancies.
 * Many venues in Las Vegas are not actually in the city of Las Vegas proper, but rather within unincorporated towns in Nevada state. Therefore, check to see if a venue is in Paradise, Nevada; Winchester, Nevada; North Las Vegas, Nevada; Henderson, Nevada; or indeed Las Vegas itself. The broader Las Vegas Valley should not be used, as that is a metropolitan area.
 * Do not include neighbourhoods, boroughs, or suburbs of a city (sometimes acceptable). Wherever possible, also avoid districts, regions, counties, departments, reservations, or metropolitan areas:
 * London, England, not Greenwich, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom
 * New York City, New York, US, not Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
 * Ledyard, Connecticut, not Mashantucket, Connectictut
 * Montville, Connecticut, not Uncasville, Connecticut
 * For some U.S. states this will vary greatly, particularly hamlets and towns of New York. In the absence of a city designator, the next highest should be a town.
 * Wiki-link everything if possible, except for country, on the first instance only.
 * If a city name also contains the country name, pipe link only the city: San Juan, Puerto Rico
 * Use U.S. or US for the United States, depending on where a boxer is from, but not USA; per MOS:US.
 * Use England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland as the top-level country suffix for the UK. "England, UK" is redundant, and is not equivalent to states within the U.S.; unlike UK countries, U.S. states are not represented at international sporting competitions.
 * If a fight took place in a now-former country such as East and West Germany, the Soviet Union, or former colonies in Africa, use the name by which it was known at the time.
 * Notes
 * This field is for listing details such as titles at stake; why a fight was ruled a no contest, technical decision, or disqualification; and if a fight was part of a notable tournament.
 * Use the following terminology for title scenarios:
 * "Won..." – boxer gained title(s).
 * "Retained..." – boxer successfully defended title(s).
 * "Lost..." – boxer lost their title(s).
 * "... was/were at stake" – title(s) were on the line, but an NC rendered the result null and void.
 * In most cases the contents of this column are sentence fragments, so there should be no periods in accordance with WP:BULLET. Semicolons should be used if line breaks (  or
 * Weight classes, as well as the word "title", are not proper nouns, so they must not be capitalised.
 * Depending on the sanctioning body, and in the case of a world title, use a detailed link to point to the history of that particular title on the first instance only:


 * For minor sanctioning bodies without a direct link to their title histories (see list of boxing organisations), or if the title is only a regional one by a major sanctioning body, split the links individually between sanctioning body and weight class:


 * Separate multiple titles using commas together with the word and, not an ampersand (&) or slash (/):


 * If multiple titles are on the line, but with each boxer defending different ones, use line breaks with semicolons to list a boxer's own title first, followed by the opponent's title:


 * As with the lead and Professional career sections, if a boxer has won titles by multiple sanctioning bodies in the same weight class but which use different formats, use Wikipedia's own naming format instead of two different ones:


 * If any titles were vacant, list the non-vacant ones first; anything after "vacant" will be all-encompassing:


 * After any titles, include a note if a fight took place as part of a TV network tournament:


 * Replace any unused instances of  with
 * Exceptional fight-ending circumstances such as disqualifications, a boxer unable to continue after falling out of the ring (due to illegal punches or a push), or cuts from head clashes should be included using the abbreviated outcomes:
 * "Unanimous TD: Boxer cut from an accidental head clash"
 * "Majority TD: Opponent unable to continue from a knee injury"
 * "Split TD: both boxers unable to continue from an accidental head clash"
 * "Boxer disqualified for repeated holding"
 * "Opponent disqualified for an intentional low blow"
 * This also applies to no contests in which the result was later changed: Originally points TD win for Boxer #1, later ruled NC after they failed a drug test, or Originally SD, later ruled UD after an incorrect judge's scorecard
 * If a boxer is knocked out of the ring from legal punches, then that is still a TKO or KO under normal rules and does not need to be expanded upon.
 * Normal stoppages (TKO or RTD) from cuts or injuries should not be mentioned; only if a TD occurs.

Other things not to include

 * "Professional debut" is redundant due to the fight number column, and should only be included if the date of a boxer's debut is disputed; e.g., Buster Douglas.
 * Routine in-fight details such as knockdowns, point deductions, or scorecards.
 * Title eliminators; most fights are for some kind of sanctioning body ranking, and eliminators do not always mean a guaranteed title opportunity.
 * Honorary or non-transferable titles such as WBC Diamond, WBC Emeritus, WBC Franchise, WBO Super, Lonsdale Belt, and other similar commemorative belts which are not world or regional championships.
 * Listing undisputed titles is redundant, since the inclusion of the appropriate sanctioning bodies (WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO after 2006) already covers it. Undisputed titles can, however, be listed in the succession box at the bottom of the article.
 * Post-fight awards by The Ring, BWAA, ESPN, or other outlets; they are too numerous and also belong in the succession box.
 * Details surrounding pre- or post-fight circumstances including catchweights, vacating, or being stripped; they are better served in the article body.
 * Miscellaneous trivia such as "tied the record for...", "first twelve-rounder", "first bout on network TV", "first bout at [weight class]...", or other "firsts"; best explained in the article body.
 * Extra rows for retirements, suspensions or other periods of inactivity; example.

Titles in boxing
In addition to the record table, a highly detailed summary of titles won by a boxer can be displayed using s-start. Below is an intricate example of how the parameters can be arranged for different scenarios such as a boxer winning, losing, vacating, being stripped of, or awarded a title(s). Ideally, with enough effort, every single title won—both regional and minor/major world level—should be included.
 * Non-world titles should be listed under the heading of Regional boxing titles; e.g., International, Inter-Continental, Continental (Europe, Americas, etc.), Silver, European, British (including Areas), Commonwealth, and others similar.
 * It can be very difficult, if not impossible, to determine the dates when certain titles were vacated. Therefore, examine a title's individual history using BoxRec's search function, check if it matches up with a boxer's record (e.g., when they no longer defended the title, competed at that weight, or the date when the next boxer held it), and select a month and/or year that appears logical.
 * The rankings history search functions on the WBA website can be useful in determining when a boxer held any variation of "Super"/"Regular" titles.
 * If a boxer has only won world titles by the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, The Ring, or undisputed titles, the section should only be named World boxing titles.
 * If they have won IBO, IBA, WBU, or other lower-level titles which are not regional, split the sections to Minor world boxing titles and Major world boxing titles where applicable.
 * Each section—Regional, Minor, Major, and Honorary—should display titles in chronological order of when they were won.
 * If multiple major world titles are won in the same fight, use this order of hierarchy: WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, The Ring, undisputed.
 * Different titles should not be stacked in a single slot using line breaks. Use individual slots even if the succession on either side is the same.
 * Some regional titles and weight classes can result in unwieldy strings, so use line breaks where appropriate: WBC Inter-Continental super middleweight champion
 * The weight class and sanctioning body format from the lead, Professional career and Professional boxing record sections also apply here: if a boxer has held any combination of differently named titles in the same weight class, use Wikipedia's own neutral name instead of mixing together two formats.
 * If a boxer won a title but the result was later overturned via no contest (NC), then it should not be listed at all. However, if an NC is subsequently overturned, include that title.
 * If a boxer was stripped of a title under legitimate circumstances (not an NC), use Stripped after the date range, with a line break. To ensure brevity, no explanation is needed for why they lost their title; whether it was on the scales, or they were stripped by the sanctioning body for whatever reason.
 * If a title becomes vacant due to the winning boxer refusing to pay sanctioning fees, this does need to be explained with a pipe: Vacant after loss to Opponent.
 * When copying the template below, replace  with:

Categories
Add categories as appropriate, and select the correct nationality from Category:Boxers by nationality.

Mandatory categories:
 * – if applicable
 * – remove if applicable
 * – remove if applicable

Other categories that may be included:
 * – include amateur weights
 * – remove the above category if including this one
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – include amateur weights
 * – remove the above category if including this one
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – remove the above category if including this one
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers
 * – only for retired boxers