Bryan was subsequently matched with former WBC titleholder, This page was last edited on 31 January 2021, at 16:04. In 2012 these policies were revised so that a champion could be more readily recognized, and expanding the means by which championship recognition could be withdrawn (specifically, by not scheduling a fight with a top five rated contender for two years, or any bout at all for 18 months).[1]. This is a chronological list of world heavyweight boxing champions since the introduction of the Marquess of Queensberry rules in 1884. The addition of the cruiserweight division, which began in 1979, reset the de facto minimum, first to 190 pounds; and then again to 200 pounds in 2004 when boxing's major sanctioning bodies universally raised the weight limit at which they'd recognize champions. United Kingdom. WBO: Andy Ruiz Jr.IBF: Andy Ruiz Jr.WBA: Andy Ruiz Jr.*WBC: Deontay Wilder*Mahmoud Charr is the WBA \"regular\" heavyweight champion and Trevor Bryan is the WBA interim heavyweight champion Some title reigns are considered dubious due to long periods of inactivity, the legitimacy of the organization granting championship recognition, and other factors. In fact, we’ve been in a four-belt era since 2004, and the last undisputed, unified heavyweight champion was Lennox Lewis. For a list of the best fighters regardless of weight class, check ESPN's pound-for-pound rankings. 'Boxing never lies': Ryan Garcia ready to prove he's more than a social media star, Why Canelo Alvarez is(n't) boxing's pound-for-pound king. The Ring. But right now, there are two fighters considered heavyweight champions; Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is no stranger to adversity. In this special feature, we give you the shortest men to hold one world heavyweight title or another since John L. Sullivan opened the modern era when he was recognized as champion … Until the 1960's, such disputes were settled in the ring, typically with alternate title claimants largely being forgotten. MORE: Undisputed champion vs. unified champion Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are set to fight twice in 2021, holding the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO, WBC and Ring titles between them. In pursuit of greater revenues, some organizations have now adopted a practice of simultaneously recognizing multiple champions in a weight division, creating a situation in which a champion may not only be unable to secure recognition from multiple sanctioning bodies, but to secure sole recognition from a single one. His next defence of this title … Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Logan Paul: What you need to know about their exhibition bout. The prominence of New York as the epicenter of boxing would lead to a governmental entity, the powerful New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC), to join the NBA in sanctioning bouts as "world championships." Sources: Lopez's next opponent likely Kambosos, Mayweather bout vs. YouTuber Paul postponed, Int'l Boxing Hall postponing ceremony again, Golden Boy cools talk of Pacquiao-Garcia fight, Pacquiao designated WBA 'champion in recess', Top Rank secures May 8 for Taylor-Ramirez fight, Sources: Canelo, Saunders agree to fight in May. Light welterweight (140 lb/63.5 kg) Josh Taylor. He regained the title with a unanimous points victory over Andy Ruiz Jr in their rematch in Saudi Arabia in December 2019. Retirements or disputed results could lead to a championship being split among several men for periods of time. To make things quick, there isn’t just one heavyweight champion in the sport. Manchester, England, UK. At present however, there is a single titleholder: Anthony Joshua, who is officially recognized as its 'Super' Champion after defeating Andy Ruiz Jr. on December 7, 2019. The list includes The Ring belt. Wladimir Wladimirowitsch Klitschko (Ukrainian: Володимир Володимирович Кличко, born 25 March 1976) is a Ukrainian former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2017. Overview. The closest the division came to having an undisputed champion was on November 3, 2007, when Joe Calzaghe defeated Mikkel Kessler to unify the WBA (Super), WBC, and WBO titles; the IBF champion at the time was Lucian Bute. Calzaghe was, however, frequently described as "undisputed champion" by some outlets. *Mahmoud Charr is the WBA "regular" heavyweight champion and Trevor Bryan is the WBA interim heavyweight champion, **Alexander Povetkin is the WBC interim heavyweight champion, **Beibut Shumenov is the WBA "regular" cruiserweight champion and Ryad Merhy is the WBA interim cruiserweight champion, *Jean Pascal is the WBA "regular" light heavyweight champion and Dominic Boesel is the WBA interim light heavyweight champion, *David Morrell is the WBA interim super middleweight champion, *Chris Eubank Jr. is the WBA interim middleweight champion, **Canelo Alvarez is the WBC "franchise champion", *Erislandy Lara is the WBA "regular" junior middleweight champion, *Yordenis Ugas is the WBA "regular" champion and Jamal James is the WBA interim welterweight champion, *Mario Barrios is the WBA "regular" junior welterweight champion and Alberto Puello is the WBA interim junior welterweight champion, *Gervonta Davis is the WBA "regular" lightweight champion and Rolando Romero is the WBA interim lightweight champion, **Teofimo Lopez Jr. is the WBC "franchise" champion and Ryan Garcia is the WBC interim champion, *Roger Gutierrez is the WBA "regular" junior lightweight champion and Chris Colbert is the WBA interim junior lightweight champion, *Xu Can is the WBA "regular" featherweight champion, *Ryosuke Iwasa is the IBF interim junior featherweight champion, **Brandon Figueroa is the WBA "regular" junior featherweight champion, *Guillermo Rigondeaux is the WBA "regular" bantamweight champion, *Joshua Franco is the WBA "regular" junior bantamweight champion, *Luis Concepcion is the WBA interim flyweight champion. Pound-for-pound rankings: Did Canelo Alvarez jump Terence Crawford after latest win? Doesn't include WBA "regular" champions if there is also a "super" champion. Firstly, it is known as the United States Boxing Association (USBA) formed in 1983 in New Jersey. A third entity with lesser public recognition, the European Boxing Union, would follow suit, with this triumvirate typically (but not always) recognizing the same boxers as world champions. That came at Madison Square Garden, New York in June 2019. We list the top 15 Heavyweights with the WBC, WBA, IBF & WBO. Real or not: Did Garcia make a mistake in chasing Pacquiao? Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply. In 1920 a de facto minimum weight for a heavyweight was set at 175 pounds (12 st 7 lb, 79 kg) with the standardization of a weight limit for the light heavyweight division. The current status of these titles is as follows: The World Boxing Council presently recognizes up to six distinct 'types' of champion in its weight divisions: a 'Franchise' Champion (one who holds the WBC title along with that of at least one other widely recognized sanctioning body; a distinction it has thus far only awarded once), a 'World' Champion (ostensibly one who holds the WBC title alone, but to date no unified champions in the heavyweight division have been attributed the 'Franchise' Champion status), an 'Interim' Champion (one who, ostensibly, holds the title during a period of illness or injury to the 'World' Champion), a 'Champion in Recess (a champion who retains some form of championship recognition, but who are presently inactive), and a 'Silver' Champion (a designation which has no clear distinction, but which nevertheless is recognized as a world championship-level title). Does Gervonta Davis change course? A fifth significant, but not as publicly accepted, body came in the form of the International Boxing Organization (IBO) in 1991; and today there are over a dozen sanctioning organizations, of varying degrees of public acceptance, sanctioning bouts as for a world championship and proclaiming their winners as "Heavyweight Champion of the World. The International Boxing Organization recognizes but a single champion in each of its weight divisions. W e talk about fear and remorse, audacity and embarrassment and, of course, about art and boxing. Tyson Fury. Known as the "Boston Strong Boy," Sullivan weighed around 200 pounds when in shape, and helped transition the sport from its bare-knuckle era. Super champion. Klitschko's career is underappreciated. The heavyweights of the current era are gargantuan, led by oversized titleholders Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, who outweigh many great champions of the past by 50 or more pounds. How high is Shakur Stevenson's ceiling in 2021? Sept. 15, 1978 - June 27, 1979: Muhammad Ali - Won championship via 15 round decision over Leon Spinks. Sullivan would be defeated for the title by "Gentleman" Jim Corbett over 21 rounds on September 7, 1892, the first heavyweight titleholder solely under Queensberry rules. With 17 weight classes in boxing and four major sanctioning bodies that bestow world titles, keeping track of who holds each of the belts can be difficult -- especially when there are sometimes multiple titlists in each organization because of interim and secondary belts. The National Boxing Association was formed in 1921 as the first organization aimed at regulating boxing on a national, and later global level. Through February 24, 2020. It is expanded as International Boxing Federation and also one of the prominent boxing titles. Canelo Alvarez wants to unify at 168, but should he really close the door on a GGG trilogy? 1. How about Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney? Boxing World Champions - Heavyweight Cruiserweight Welterweight Middleweight Lightweight Featherweight Bantamweight flyweight. Fights we want to see in 2021, including Lopez-'Tank' Davis and, yes, Pacquiao vs. McGregor, Ryan Garcia proved he's more than a social media star, belongs among best lightweights, Sports and entertainment stars react to Ryan Garcia's TKO of Luke Campbell, Felix Alvarado retains title, but his twin brother, Rene, loses his by a point. Now it’s the little guys’ turn. Why is Canelo Alvarez facing Avni Yildirim, and how will the fight play out? The tallest of the lineal heavyweight champions is Tyson Fury, the current lineal champion. This is unsurprising as there has been a gradual increase in height of boxers in the heavyweight division. World Boxing News provides a list of all the current major world boxing champions as we begin a brand new year for 2021. Retirements from the ring periodically led to a "true" champion going unrecognized, or for several to be recognized by the public for periods of time. Rebranding it the World Boxing Association, the now-WBA would be joined a year later by a combination of state and national boxing commissions (including the NYSAC and IBU) to form a separate sanctioning body, the World Boxing Council. Champions were recognized by wide public acclamation. The record of, refusal to be inducted into the armed forces, World heavyweight boxing championship records and statistics, List of Olympic medalists in boxing#Heavyweight, List of WBA female world champions#Light heavyweight, List of WBC female world champions#Heavyweight, List of IBF female world champions#Heavyweight, List of WBO female world champions#Heavyweight, "Professional boxing record: John L. Sullivan", "Professional boxing record: James J. Corbett", "Professional boxing record: Bob Fitzsimmons", "Professional boxing record: James J. Jeffries", "Professional boxing record: Marvin Hart", "Professional boxing record: Tommy Burns", "Professional boxing record: Jack Johnson", "Professional boxing record: Jess Willard", "Professional boxing record: Jack Dempsey", "Professional boxing record: Gene Tunney", "Professional boxing record: Max Schmeling", "Professional boxing record: Jack Sharkey", "Professional boxing record: Primo Carnera", "Professional boxing record: Jim Braddock", "Professional boxing record: Ezzard Charles", "Professional boxing record: Jersey Joe Walcott", "Professional boxing record: Rocky Marciano", "Professional boxing record: Floyd Patterson", "Professional boxing record: Ingemar Johansson", "Professional boxing record: Sonny Liston", "Professional boxing record: Muhammad Ali", "Professional boxing record: Ernie Terrell", "Professional boxing record: Joe Frazier", "Professional boxing record: Jimmy Ellis", "Professional boxing record: George Foreman", "Professional boxing record: Leon Spinks", "Professional boxing record: Larry Holmes", "Professional boxing record: Mike Weaver", "Professional boxing record: Michael Dokes", "Professional boxing record: Gerrie Coetzee", "Professional boxing record: Tim Witherspoon", "Professional boxing record: Pinklon Thomas", "Professional boxing record: Michael Spinks", "Professional boxing record: Trevor Berbick", "Professional boxing record: James Smith", "Professional boxing record: Tony Tucker", "Professional boxing record: Francesco Damiani", "Professional boxing record: James Douglas", "Professional boxing record: Evander Holyfield", "Professional boxing record: Michael Moorer", "Professional boxing record: Riddick Bowe", "Professional boxing record: Lennox Lewis", "Professional boxing record: Tommy Morrison", "Professional boxing record: Michael Bentt", "Professional boxing record: Herbie Hide", "Professional boxing record: Oliver McCall", "Professional boxing record: Bruce Seldon", "Professional boxing record: Frank Bruno", "Professional boxing record: Henry Akinwande", "Professional boxing record: Vitali Klitschko", "Professional boxing record: Wladimir Klitschko", "Professional boxing record: Hasim Rahman", "Professional boxing record: Roy Jones Jr", "Professional boxing record: Corrie Sanders", "Professional boxing record: Lamon Brewster", "Professional boxing record: Nikolai Valuev", "Professional boxing record: Siarhei Liakhovich", "Professional boxing record: Oleg Maskaev", "Президент России предоставил гражданство Олегу Маскаеву", "Professional boxing record: Shannon Briggs", "Professional boxing record: Ruslan Chagaev", "Professional boxing record: Sultan Ibragimov", "Professional boxing record: Samuel Peter", "Professional boxing record: Alexander Povetkin", "Professional boxing record: Bermane Stiverne", "Professional boxing record: Deontay Wilder", "Professional boxing record: Charles Martin", "Professional boxing record: Lucas Browne", "Professional boxing record: Anthony Joshua", "Professional boxing record: Joseph Parker", "Professional boxing record: Manuel Charr", "Professional boxing record: Andy Ruiz Jr", NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion - BoxRec, The BoxRec – Boxing's Official Record Keeper, The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall Of Fame Official Record Book, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_world_heavyweight_boxing_champions&oldid=1003977455, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Reclassified from 'Regular Champion' status.