List of current world boxing champions
At least since John L. Sullivan, in the late 19th century, there have been world boxing champions. The first of today's organizations to award a world title was the World Boxing Association, known as the National Boxing Association when it sanctioned its first title fight in 1921 between Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier for the heavyweight championship.
There are now four major sanctioning bodies in professional boxing. The official rules and regulations of the World Boxing Association,[1] World Boxing Council,[2] International Boxing Federation[3] and World Boxing Organization[4] all recognize the other three major sanctioning bodies in their rankings and title unification rules. Each of these organizations sanction and regulate championship bouts and award championships. American boxing magazine The Ring began awarding world championship belts in 1922.
There are seventeen weight divisions. To compete in a weight class, a boxer's weight must not exceed the upper limit. Manny Pacquiao has won world championships in eight different weight classes, more than any other boxer. The Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, hold all five major titles in the heavyweight division. They are the first brothers to hold versions of the heavyweight championship at the same time.[5]
Championships
When a champion, for reasons beyond his control such as an illness or injury, is unable to defend his title within the normal mandatory time, the sanctioning bodies may order an interim title bout and award the winner an interim championship. The WBA and WBC may change the status of their inactive champions to Champion in Recess.
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association (WBA) was founded in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA)—a national regulating body of the United States. On August 23, 1962, the NBA became the WBA, which today has its head office in Panama.[6] According to WBA championship rules, when a champion holds a title of one of the other three major sanctioning bodies in an equivalent weight class, the boxer is granted special recognition: he is called the unified champion and is given more time between mandatory title defences. The WBA Championships Committee and President may designate a champion as a Super Champion in exceptional circumstances.[1] The WBA title is vacated if it is one of the titles the respective boxer holds. When a WBA champion defends his title for the fifth or sixth time, he may be granted the WBA "Super" title upon discretion of a vote of the WBA's board of governors.[7]
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council (WBC) was founded in Mexico City, Mexico on February 14, 1963 in order to establish an international regulating body.[8] The WBC established many of today's safety measures in boxing, such as the standing eight-count,[9] a limit of 12 rounds instead of 15, and additional weight classes. In its discretion, the WBC may designate and recognize, upon a two-thirds majority vote of their Board of Governors, one or more emeritus world champions in each weight class. Such a recognition is for life and is only bestowed upon present or past WBC world champions. The following boxers have earned the Emeritus Championship appellation throughout their careers: Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko, Bernard Hopkins (Honorary Champion), Mikkel Kessler, Sergio Gabriel Martínez, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Kostya Tszyu, Manny Pacquiao, Érik Morales, Vic Darchinyan, and Édgar Sosa. The WBC has got "Diamond Champions" as well, a title that normally is at stake at very high-profile matches between two top fighters. Manny Pacquiao was the first one to win this title in 2009 by beating then-WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. In 2011, Sergio Gabriel Martínez won the title at middleweight by beating Serhiy Dzinziruk, who was undefeated in 37 fights until then. On May 21, 2011, Bernard Hopkins beat Jean Pascal on points to become the oldest ever world boxing champion at the age of 46, becoming the third man to win the WBC's Diamond belt.
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation (IBF) originated in September 1976 as the United States Boxing Association (USBA) when American members of the WBA withdrew in order to legitimize boxing in the United States with "unbiased" ratings.[10] In April 1983, the organization established an international division that was known as the United States Boxing Association-International (USBA-I).[10] In May 1984, the New Jersey-based USBA-I was renamed and became the IBF.[10]
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) was founded in San Juan, Puerto Rico (which is a self-governing commonwealth of the United States) in 1988. Its motto is "dignity, democracy, honesty."[11] When a WBO champion has reached "preeminent status" the WBO's Executive Committee may designate him as a "Super Champion".[12] Besides the beltholders that are called "Super Champion", there are other fighters that have been named "WBO Super Champion" like Bernard Hopkins, Joe Calzaghe, Kelly Pavlik, Óscar De La Hoya, Juan Díaz, Marco Antonio Barrera, Fernando Montiel, Iván Calderón. The WBO championships are not universally recognized. Some media sites do not include the WBO in their list of champions,[13][14] but others do.[15][16]
The Ring
The Ring is a respected boxing magazine that was founded in 1922. The Ring has its own version of lineal championship in a given weight class. The Ring began awarding world championship belts in 1922. The Ring stopped giving belts to the world champions in the 1990s but began again in 2002.[17]
In 2002, The Ring created a championship system that is "intended to reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given weight class."[17] The Ring claims to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between The Ring's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated).[18] There are also only three ways that a boxer can lose The Ring's title: lose a championship fight, move to a different weight class, or retire.[18]
Current champions
The current champions in each weight class are listed below. Each champion's professional boxing record is shown in the following format: wins–losses–draws–no contests (knockout wins).
Heavyweight (200+ lb, 90.7+ kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Wladimir Klitschko Super champion  Ukraine57–3–0–0 (50) July 2, 2011 |
Vitali Klitschko Ukraine 44–2–0–0 (40) October 11, 2008 |
Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine 57–3–0–0 (50) April 22, 2006 |
Wladimir Klitschko Super champion Ukraine57–3–0–0 (50) February 23, 2008 |
Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine 57–3–0–0 (50) June 20, 2009 |
Alexander Povetkin Russia24–0–0–0 (16) August 27, 2011 |
Cruiserweight, Junior heavyweight (200 lb, 90.7 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Guillermo Jones Panama38–3–2–0 (30) September 27, 2008 |
Krzysztof Włodarczyk Poland46–2–1–0 (33) May 15, 2010 |
Yoan Pablo Hernández Cuba26–1–0–0 (13) October 1, 2011 |
Marco Huck Germany34–2–0–0 (25) August 29, 2009 |
Yoan Pablo Hernández Cuba 26–1–0–0 (13) February 4, 2012 |
| Denis Lebedev Interim champion Russia23–1–0–0 (17) November 4, 2011 |
Ola Afolabi Interim champion  United Kingdom19–2–3–0 (9) March 3, 2012 |
Light heavyweight (175 lb, 79.4 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Beibut Shumenov Kazakhstan12–1–0–0 (8) January 29, 2010 |
Bernard Hopkins United States52–5–2–2 (32) May 21, 2011 |
Tavoris Cloud United States 24–0–0–0 (19) August 28, 2009 |
Nathan Cleverly United Kingdom 24–0–0–0 (11) May 18, 2011 |
Bernard Hopkins United States 52–5–2–2 (32) May 21, 2011 |
Super middleweight (168 lb, 76.2 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Andre Ward Super champion United States25–0–0–0 (13) November 21, 2009 |
Andre Ward United States 25–0–0–0 (13) December 17, 2011 |
Lucian Bute Romania30–0–0–0 (24) October 19, 2007 |
Robert Stieglitz Germany 41–2–0–0 (23) August 22, 2009 |
Andre Ward United States 25–0–0–0 (13) December 17, 2011 |
Károly Balzsay Hungary24–2–0–0 (17) August 26, 2011 |
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| Brian Magee Interim champion United Kingdom36–4–1–0 (25) July 30, 2011 |
Middleweight (160 lb, 72.6 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Felix Sturm Super champion Germany36–2–2–0 (15) March 22, 2010 |
Julio César Chávez Jr Mexico45–0–1–1 (31) June 4, 2011 |
Daniel Geale Australia27–1–0–0 (15) May 7, 2011 |
Dmitry Pirog Russia 19–0–0–0 (15) July 31, 2010 |
Sergio Gabriel Martínez Argentina48–2–2–0 (27) April 17, 2010 |
| Gennady Golovkin Kazakhstan 22–0–0–0 (19) October 14, 2010 |
Super welterweight, Junior middleweight (154 lb, 69.9 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Miguel Cotto Super champion  Puerto Rico37–2–0–0 (30) September 10, 2010 |
Saúl Álvarez Mexico 39–0–1–0 (29) March 5, 2011 |
Cornelius Bundrage United States 31–4–0–1 (18) August 7, 2010 |
Zaurbek Baysangurov Russia 26–1–0–0 (20) October 5, 2011 |
vacant |
| Austin Trout United States 24–0–0–0 (14) February 5, 2011 |
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| Anthony Mundine Interim champion Australia43–4–0–0 (25) October 19, 2011 |
Welterweight (147 lb, 66.7 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Vyacheslav Senchenko Ukraine 32–0–0–0 (21) April 10, 2009 |
Floyd Mayweather Jr United States 42–0–0–0 (26) September 17, 2011 |
vacant | Manny Pacquiao Super champion  Philippines54–3–2–0 (38) November 14, 2009 |
vacant |
| Ismael El Massoudi Interim champion  France36–3–0–0 (14) July 14, 2011 |
Super lightweight, Junior welterweight (140 lb, 63.5 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Lamont Peterson Super champion United States30–1–1–0 (15) December 10, 2011 |
Érik Morales Mexico 52–7–0–0 (36) September 17, 2011 |
Lamont Peterson United States 30–1–1–0 (15) December 10, 2011 |
Timothy Bradley United States 28–0–0–1 (12) April 4, 2009 |
vacant |
| Marcos René Maidana Argentina 31–3–0–0 (28) July 23, 2011 |
Timothy Bradley In recess United States28–0–0–1 (12) July 26, 2011 |
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| Johan Pérez Interim champion  Venezuela15–0–1–1 (12) December 10, 2011 |
Lightweight (135 lb, 61.2 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| vacant | Antonio DeMarco Mexico 26–2–1–0 (19) October 15, 2011 |
Miguel Vázquez Mexico 30–3–0–0 (13) August 14, 2010 |
Juan Manuel Márquez Super champion Mexico53–6–1–0 (39) February 28, 2009 |
Juan Manuel Márquez Mexico 53–6–1–0 (39) September 13, 2008 |
| Richard Abril Interim champion Cuba17–2–1–0 (8) October 22, 2011 |
Ricky Burns Interim champion United Kingdom33–2–0–0 (9) November 5, 2011 |
Super featherweight, Junior lightweight (130 lb, 59 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Takashi Uchiyama Japan18–0–0–0 (15) January 11, 2010 |
Takahiro Ao Japan 22–2–1–0 (10) November 26, 2010 |
Juan Carlos Salgado Mexico 24–1–1–1 (16) September 10, 2011 |
Adrien Broner United States 23–0–0–0 (19) November 26, 2011 |
vacant |
| Bryan Vázquez Interim champion  Costa Rica28–0–0–0 (14) November 3, 2011 |
Featherweight (126 lb, 57.2 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Chris John Super champion  Indonesia46–0–2–0 (22) July 23, 2009 |
Jhonny González Mexico 51–7–0–0 (45) April 8, 2011 |
Billy Dib Australia 34–1–0–1 (21) July 29, 2011 |
Orlando Salido Mexico 37–11–2–1 (25) April 16, 2011 |
vacant |
| Celestino Caballero Panama 36–4–0–0 (23) October 14, 2011 |
Elio Rojas In recess  Dominican Republic23–1–0–0 (14) August 25, 2010 |
Super bantamweight, Junior featherweight (122 lb, 55.3 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Guillermo Rigondeaux Cuba 9–0–0–0 (7) January 20, 2012 |
Toshiaki Nishioka Japan 39–4–3–0 (24) December 18, 2008 |
Takalani Ndlovu South Africa33–6–0–0 (18) March 26, 2011 |
Nonito Donaire Philippines 28–1–0–0 (18) February 4, 2012 |
vacant |
Bantamweight (118 lb, 53.5 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Anselmo Moreno Super champion Panama32–1–1–0 (11) November 16, 2010 |
Shinsuke Yamanaka Japan 15–0–2–0 (11) November 6, 2011 |
vacant | Jorge Arce Super champion Mexico60–6–2–0 (46) November 26, 2011 |
vacant |
| Koki Kameda Japan 27–1–0–0 (17) December 26, 2010 |
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| Hugo Ruiz Interim champion Mexico29–1–0–0 (26) January 22, 2011 |
Super flyweight, Junior bantamweight (115 lb, 52.2 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Tepparith Singwancha Thailand19–2–0–0 (12) November 10, 2011 |
Suriyan Sor Rungvisai Thailand 20–4–1–0 (7) August 19, 2011 |
Juan Carlos Sánchez Jr Mexico 13–1–1–0 (7) February 11, 2012 |
Omar Andrés Narváez Super champion Argentina35–1–2–0 (19) May 15, 2010 |
vacant |
| Tomonobu Shimizu In recess Japan19–3–1–0 (9) November 10, 2011 |
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| Liborio Solís Interim champion Venezuela13–3–1–0 (7) December 10, 2011 |
Flyweight (112 lb, 50.8 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Hernán Márquez Mexico 32–2–0–0 (25) April 2, 2011 |
Sonny Boy Jaro Philippines 34–10–5–0 (24) March 2, 2012 |
Moruti Mthalane South Africa 28–2–0–0 (19) November 20, 2009 |
Brian Viloria United States 30–3–0–2 (17) July 16, 2011 |
Sonny Boy Jaro Philippines 34–10–5–0 (24) March 2, 2012 |
| Juan Carlos Reveco Interim champion Argentina27–1–0–0 (16) June 10, 2011 |
Light flyweight, Junior flyweight (108 lb, 49 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Román González Nicaragua30–0–0–0 (25) February 4, 2011 |
Kompayak Porpramook Thailand 44–3–0–0 (30) December 23, 2011 |
Ulises Solís Mexico 34–2–3–0 (21) April 30, 2011 |
Donnie Nietes Philippines 29–1–3–0 (16) October 8, 2011 |
vacant |
| José Alfredo Rodríguez Interim champion Mexico28–0–0–0 (17) November 19, 2011 |
Johnriel Casimero Interim champion Philippines16–2–0–0 (10) February 10, 2012 |
Minimumweight, Strawweight, Mini flyweight (105 lb, 47.6 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Akira Yaegashi Japan 15–2–0–0 (8) October 24, 2011 |
Kazuto Ioka Japan 9–0–0–0 (6) February 11, 2011 |
Nkosinathi Joyi South Africa 21–0–0–1 (15) March 26, 2010 |
Moisés Fuentes Mexico 14–1–0–0 (6) August 27, 2011 |
vacant |
| Paipharob Kokietgym Interim champion Thailand19–0–0–0 (16) November 7, 2011 |
See also
References
- Specific
- ^ a b "Rules of World Boxing Association" (PDF). World Boxing Association. http://wbanews.com/artman/uploads/1/WBARulesADOPTEDPUNTACANA2008.pdf. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "World Boxing Council Rules and Regulations" (PDF). World Boxing Council. http://www.wbcboxing.com/downloads/NEW_RULES_AND_REGULATIONS_WEB_FINAL_2009.pdf. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ "IBF/USBA RULES GOVERNING CHAMPIONSHIP CONTESTS" (PDF). International Boxing Federation. http://www.ibf-usba-boxing.com/userfiles/File/RulesGoverningChampionshipContestsEffectiveSeptember1_2006with10_21_10amendments.pdf. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
- ^ "World Boxing Organization Regulations of World Championship Contests". World Boxing Organization. http://www.wboboxing.com/regulations/. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ Lewis, Ron (October 13, 2008). "Vitali Klitschko impressive in comeback victory". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/boxing/article4931508.ece. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ "World Boxing Association History". World Boxing Association. http://wbanews.com/artman/publish/wbahistory/index.shtml. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "World Boxing Association Super Belt winners". World Boxing Association. http://wbanews.com/artman/publish/campionshipSuperBeltWinners/index.shtml. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "World Boxing Council". World Boxing Council. http://www.wbcboxing.com/indexEng.php. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
- ^ "Rules that have changed the History of Boxing". World Boxing Council. Archived from the original on September 25, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070925051631/www.wbcboxing.com/WBCboxing/Portal/cfpages/contentmgr.cfm?docId=123&docTipo=4&orderby=docid&sortby=ASC. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
- ^ a b c "History of the IBF". International Boxing Federation. December 4, 2000. Archived from the original on December 4, 2000. http://web.archive.org/web/20001204194900/http://ibf-usba-boxing.com/history.html. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
- ^ "WBO logo". World Boxing Organization. http://www.wboboxing.com/. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
- ^ "WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests" (PDF). World Boxing Organization. Section 14. http://www.wboboxing.com/regulations/.
- ^ "Current Boxing Champions' Career Records". Sports Illustrated. March 22, 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/boxing/stats/champs.html. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
- ^ "Current Boxing Champions". Yahoo!. December 11, 2010. http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=champs. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
- ^ "Reigning Champions". ESPN Internet Ventures. January 20, 2011. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?page=boxing/champions/index. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
- ^ "List of Champions". BBC Sport. May 5, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/champions_list/default.stm. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
- ^ a b "About The Ring". The Ring. February 14, 2009. http://www.ringtv.com/about/. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
- ^ a b Kellerman, Max (January 22, 2004). "Gatti vs. the unknown". ESPN. http://static.espn.go.com/boxing/columns/kellerman_max/1715320.html. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- General
- "BoxRec title search". BoxRec.com. http://www.boxrec.com/title_search.php. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
- "IBF-USBA official ratings". International Boxing Federation. April 25, 2007. http://www.ibf-usba-boxing.com/index.php?pg=1. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
- "WBA official ratings". World Boxing Association. March 2009. http://wbanews.com/artman/publish/ranking/index.shtml. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- "The Ring Ratings". The Ring. February 9, 2009. http://ringtv.craveonline.com/ratings. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
- "WBC official ratings". World Boxing Council. September 2009. http://www.wbcboxing.com/indexEng.php. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
- "Rankings - World Boxing Organization". World Boxing Organization. October 2011. http://www.wboboxing.com/rankings. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
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