Middleweight

For the mixed martial arts division of the same name, see Middleweight (MMA).

Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897. Chandler won, becoming known as the American middleweight champion.

The first middleweight fight with gloves may have been between George Fulljames and Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey (no relation to the more famous heavyweight of the same name). Dempsey knocked out Fulljames on July 30, 1884.

In the modern era, middleweight means that the fighter's official weight does not exceed 160 pounds (72.64 kg). (In practice, however, since weigh-ins take place usually 24 hours before the actual fight, many fighters show up at the actual ringside weighing more.)

The current linear middleweight champion is Sergio Martinez who won the title by defeating former champion Kelly Pavlik by unanimous decision on April 17, 2010. He has 6 successful title defenses under his belt.

Olympic champions

• 1904 –  Charles Mayer (USA)
• 1908 –  John Douglas (GBR)
• 1920 –  Harry Mallin (GBR)
• 1924 –  Harry Mallin (GBR)
• 1928 –  Piero Toscani (ITA)
• 1932 –  Carmen Barth (USA)
• 1936 –  Jean Despeaux (FRA)
• 1948 –  László Papp (HUN)
• 1952 –  Floyd Patterson (USA)
• 1956 –  Gennadiy Shatkov (URS)
• 1960 –  Eddie Crook, Jr. (USA)
• 1964 –  Valeriy Popenchenko (URS)
• 1968 –  Chris Finnegan (GBR)
• 1972 –  Vyacheslav Lemeshev (URS)
• 1976 –  Michael Spinks (USA)
• 1980 –  José Gómez (CUB)
• 1984 –  Shin Joon-Sup (KOR)
• 1988 –  Henry Maske (GDR)
• 1992 –  Ariel Hernández (CUB)
• 1996 –  Ariel Hernández (CUB)
• 2000 –  Jorge Gutiérrez (CUB)
• 2004 –  Gaydarbek Gaydarbekov (RUS)
• 2008 –  James DeGale (GBR)
• 2012 –  Ryota Murata (JPN)

Professional Champions

Current champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA	October 14, 2010	Gennady Golovkin	26-0 (23 KO)	7
WBC	September 15, 2012	Sergio Martinez	51-2-2 (28 KO)	1
IBF	May 7, 2011	Daniel Geale	29-1 (15 KO)	4
WBO	October 20, 2012	Peter Quillin	29-0 (21 KO)	1

• List of middleweight boxing champions

Longest reigning middleweight champions

Below is a list of longest reigning middleweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. Career total time as champion (for multiple time champions) does not apply.

	Name	Title Reign	Title Recognition	Successful Defenses
1.	Bernard Hopkins	10 years, 2 months, 18 days	IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO	20
2.	Carlos Monzon	6 years, 9 months, 9 days	WBA, WBC	14
3.	Marvin Hagler	6 years, 7 months, 10 days	WBC, WBA, IBF	12
4.	Felix Sturm	5 years, 4 months, 4 days	WBA (Super)	12
5.	Arthur Abraham	3 years, 10 months, 14 days	IBF	10

Taekwondo

Category	Men's	Women's	Competitions	Note
Middleweight	78 – 84 kg	67 – 72 kg	World Championships, Continental Championships, Asian Games	since 1999
Middleweight	76 – 83 kg	65 – 70 kg	World Championships, Continental Championships, Asian Games	until 1998
Middleweight	68 – 80 kg	57 – 67 kg	Olympic Games, Pan Am Games, All-Africa Games

Kickboxing

• International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Middleweight (Pro & Amateur) 159.1 lbs. - 165 lbs. or 72.4 kg - 75 kg