In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.7 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has produced some of boxing's greatest champions: Evander Holyfield, Tommy Loughran, Billy Conn, Joey Maxim, Archie Moore, Jonathan Oakey, Bob Foster, Michael Spinks, Dariusz Michalczewski and Roy Jones Jr. to name a few.
Many light heavyweight champions unsuccessfully challenged for the heavyweight crown until Michael Spinks became the first reigning light heavyweight champion to win the heavyweight championship. Bob Fitzsimmons captured the light heavyweight championship after losing his heavyweight championship. Two all-time great heavyweight champions, Ezzard Charles and Floyd Patterson, started out as light heavyweights. Charles defeated Archie Moore and Joey Maxim several times in non-title bouts before becoming heavyweight champion and Patterson lost an eight-round decision to Joey Maxim before becoming heavyweight champion himself. Evander Holyfield successfully moved up from the light-heavyweight division to both the cruiser and eventually heavyweight divisions and became undisputed champion of both.
[edit] Olympic champions
[edit] Professional champions
[edit] Current champions
[edit] Kickboxing
In kickboxing, a light heavyweight fighter generally weighs between 77 kg (171 lb) and 82 kg (180 lb).
[edit] See also
Eddie Eagan (USA)
Harry Mitchell (GBR)
Víctor Avendaño (ARG)
David Carstens (RSA)
Roger Michelot (FRA)
Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) (USA)
Cosimo Pinto (ITA)
Danas Pozniakas (URS)
Mate Parlov (YUG)
Torsten May (GER)
Vassiliy Jirov (KAZ)
Aleksandr Lebziak (RUS)
Zhang Xiaoping (CHN)
Beibut Shumenov
Bernard Hopkins
Nathan Cleverly
