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, World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization 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.

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. 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. 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 time, he may be granted the WBA "Super" title upon discretion of a vote of the WBA's board of governors.

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. The WBC established many of today's safety measures in boxing, such as the standing eight-count, 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, Toshiaki Nishioka, Vic Darchinyan, and Édgar Sosa.

The WBC also awards the "Diamond Championship", a title usually only at stake in high-profile matches between two top fighters. Manny Pacquiao was the first to win the welterweight version of this title in 2009 by beating then-WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. Other holders of this title have included Bernard Hopkins (light heavyweight), Sergio Gabriel Martínez (middleweight), Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (super welterweight) and Nonito Donaire (super bantamweight). Although this title can be defended, it is not a mandatory requirement. The title can also be vacated in the case of a fighter's long-term absence or retirement from boxing.

File:Diamond belt.jpg

The WBC Diamond Championship.

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. In April 1983, the organization established an international division that was known as the United States Boxing Association-International (USBA-I). In May 1984, the New Jersey-based USBA-I was renamed and became the IBF.

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." When a WBO champion has reached "preeminent status" the WBO's Executive Committee may designate him as a "Super Champion". 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, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Díaz, Marco Antonio Barrera, Fernando Montiel, Jorge Arce, Iván Calderón. The WBO championships are not universally recognized. Some media sites do not include the WBO in their list of champions, but others do.

The Ring

The Ring is a respected boxing magazine that was founded in 1922, upon which it first began awarding world championship belts. It maintains its own version of lineal championships in each weight class. Title belts ceased to be awarded in the 1990s, but the practice was resumed in 2002. From 2002 onwards, a championship system was created with the intention to "reward fighters who, by satisfying rigid criteria, can justify a claim as the true and only world champion in a given weight class." The Ring claims to be more authoritative and open than that of the sanctioning bodies with regards to 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 fighter 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). There are also only three ways that a fighter can lose the title: lose a championship fight, move to a different weight class, or retire.

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 Ukraine 58–3–0–0 (50) July 2, 2011	Vitali Klitschko Ukraine 45–2–0–0 (41) October 11, 2008	Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine 58–3–0–0 (50) April 22, 2006	Wladimir Klitschko Super champion Ukraine 58–3–0–0 (50) February 23, 2008	Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine 58–3–0–0 (50) June 20, 2009
Alexander Povetkin Russia 25–0–0–0 (17) August 27, 2011

Cruiserweight, Junior heavyweight (200 lb, 90.7 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Guillermo Jones Panama 38–3–2–0 (30) September 27, 2008	Krzysztof Włodarczyk Poland 47–2–1–0 (33) May 15, 2010	Yoan Pablo Hernández Cuba 27–1–0–0 (13) October 1, 2011	Marco Huck Germany 34–2–1–0 (25) August 29, 2009	Yoan Pablo Hernández Cuba 27–1–0–0 (13) February 4, 2012
Denis Lebedev Interim champion Russia 24–1–0–0 (18) November 4, 2011			Ola Afolabi Interim champion United Kingdom 19–2–4–0 (9) March 3, 2012

Light heavyweight (175 lb, 79.4 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Beibut Shumenov Kazakhstan 13–1–0–0 (8) January 29, 2010	Chad Dawson United States 31–2–0–2 (17) April 28, 2012	Tavoris Cloud United States 24–0–0–0 (19) August 28, 2009	Nathan Cleverly United Kingdom 24–0–0–0 (11) May 18, 2011	Chad Dawson United States 31–2–0–2 (17) April 28, 2012

Super middleweight (168 lb, 76.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Andre Ward Super champion United States 26–0–0–0 (14) November 21, 2009	Andre Ward United States 26–0–0–0 (14) December 17, 2011	Carl Froch United Kingdom 29–2–0–0 (21) May 26, 2012	Arthur Abraham Germany 35–3–0–0 (27) August 25, 2012	Andre Ward United States 26–0–0–0 (14) December 17, 2011
vacant
Brian Magee Interim champion United Kingdom 36–4–1–0 (25) July 30, 2011

Middleweight (160 lb, 72.6 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Daniel Geale Super champion Australia 28–1–0–0 (15) September 1, 2012	Sergio Gabriel Martínez Argentina 50–2–2–0 (28) September 15, 2012	Daniel Geale Australia 28–1–0–0 (15) May 7, 2011	Peter Quillin United States 28–0–0–0 (20) October 20, 2012	Sergio Gabriel Martínez Argentina 50–2–2–0 (28) April 17, 2010
Gennady Golovkin Kazakhstan 24–0–0–0 (21) October 14, 2010

Super welterweight, Junior middleweight (154 lb, 69.9 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Floyd Mayweather Jr Super champion United States 43–0–0–0 (26) May 5, 2012	Saúl Álvarez Mexico 41–0–1–0 (30) March 5, 2011	Cornelius Bundrage United States 32–4–0–1 (19) August 7, 2010	Zaurbek Baysangurov Russia 28–1–0–0 (20) October 5, 2011	vacant
Austin Trout United States 25–0–0–0 (14) February 5, 2011

Welterweight (147 lb, 66.7 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Paul Malignaggi United States 32–4–0–0 (7) April 29, 2012	Floyd Mayweather Jr United States 43–0–0–0 (26) September 17, 2011	Devon Alexander United States 24–1–0–0 (13) October 20, 2012	Timothy Bradley United States 29–0–0–1 (12) June 9, 2012	vacant
Diego Gabriel Chaves Interim champion Argentina 22–0–0–0 (18) July 21, 2012	Robert Guerrero Interim champion United States 30–1–1–2 (18) July 28, 2012

Super lightweight, Junior welterweight (140 lb, 63.5 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Danny García Super champion United States 25–0–0–0 (16) July 14, 2012	Danny García United States 25–0–0–0 (16) March 24, 2012	Lamont Peterson United States 30–1–1–0 (15) December 10, 2011	Juan Manuel Márquez Super champion Mexico 54–6–1–0 (39) June 9, 2012	Danny García United States 25–0–0–0 (16) July 14, 2012
vacant	Lucas Martín Matthysse Interim champion Argentina 32–2–0–1 (30) September 8, 2012

Lightweight (135 lb, 61.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
vacant	Antonio DeMarco Mexico 28–2–1–0 (21) October 15, 2011	Miguel Vázquez Mexico 31–3–0–0 (13) August 14, 2010	Ricky Burns Scotland 35–2–0–0 (10) March 10, 2012	vacant
Richard Abril Interim champion Cuba 17–3–1–0 (8) October 22, 2011

Super featherweight, Junior lightweight (130 lb, 59 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Takashi Uchiyama Japan 18–0–1–0 (15) January 11, 2010	Takahiro Ao Japan 23–2–1–0 (10) November 26, 2010	Juan Carlos Salgado Mexico 26–1–1–1 (16) September 10, 2011	Román Martínez Puerto Rico 26–1–1–0 (16) September 15, 2012	vacant
Bryan Vásquez Interim champion Costa Rica 29–0–0–0 (15) November 3, 2011

Featherweight (126 lb, 57.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Chris John Super champion Indonesia 47–0–2–0 (22) July 23, 2009	Daniel Ponce De León Mexico 44–4–0–0 (35) September 15, 2012	Billy Dib Australia 35–1–0–1 (21) July 29, 2011	Orlando Salido Mexico 39–11–2–1 (27) April 16, 2011	vacant
vacant

Super bantamweight, Junior featherweight (122 lb, 55.3 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Guillermo Rigondeaux Cuba 11–0–0–0 (8) January 20, 2012	Abner Mares Mexico 24–0–1–0 (13) April 21, 2012	vacant	Nonito Donaire Philippines 30–1–0–0 (19) February 4, 2012	Nonito Donaire Philippines 30–1–0–0 (19) October 13, 2012

Bantamweight (118 lb, 53.5 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Anselmo Moreno Super champion Panama 33–1–1–0 (12) November 16, 2010	Shinsuke Yamanaka Japan 16–0–2–0 (11) November 6, 2011	Leo Santa Cruz Mexico 21–0–1–0 (12) June 2, 2012	Pungluang Sor Singyu Thailand 43–1–0–0 (28) October 20, 2012	vacant
Koki Kameda In recess Japan 28–1–0–0 (17) June 7, 2012

Super flyweight, Junior bantamweight (115 lb, 52.2 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Tepparith Kokietgym Thailand 21–2–0–0 (13) November 10, 2011	Yota Sato Japan 25–2–1–0 (12) March 27, 2012	Juan Carlos Sánchez Jr Mexico 15–1–1–0 (8) February 11, 2012	Omar Andrés Narváez Super champion Argentina 37–1–2–0 (20) May 15, 2010	vacant
Liborio Solís Interim champion Venezuela 14–3–1–0 (7) December 10, 2011

Flyweight (112 lb, 50.8 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Hernán Márquez Mexico 34–2–0–0 (25) April 2, 2011	Toshiyuki Igarashi Japan 16–1–1–0 (10) July 16, 2012	Moruti Mthalane South Africa 29–2–0–0 (20) November 20, 2009	Brian Viloria Philippines 31–3–0–2 (18) July 16, 2011	Toshiyuki Igarashi Japan 16–1–1–0 (10) July 16, 2012
Juan Carlos Reveco Interim champion Argentina 28–1–0–0 (16) June 10, 2011

Light flyweight, Junior flyweight (108 lb, 49 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
Román González Nicaragua 33–0–0–0 (28) February 4, 2011	Adrián Hernández Mexico 25–2–1–0 (16) October 6, 2012	John Riel Casimero Philippines 17–2–0–0 (10) July 19, 2012	Donnie Nietes Philippines 30–1–3–0 (16) October 8, 2011	vacant
Alberto Rossel Interim champion Peru 29–8–0–1 (13) April 14, 2012

Minimumweight, Strawweight, Mini flyweight (105 lb, 47.6 kg)

WBA	WBC	IBF	WBO	The Ring
vacant	vacant	Mario Rodríguez Mexico 15–6–4–0 (11) September 1, 2012	Moisés Fuentes Mexico 16–1–0–0 (8) August 27, 2011	vacant
Jesús Silvestre Interim champion Mexico 26–3–0–0 (19) July 14, 2012

See also

• Weight class (boxing)
• Ring Magazine pound for pound

References

Specific

General

• "BoxRec title search". BoxRec.com. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
• "IBF-USBA official ratings". International Boxing Federation. April 25, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
• "WBA official ratings". World Boxing Association. March 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
• "The Ring Ratings". The Ring. February 9, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• "WBC official ratings". World Boxing Council. September 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
• "Rankings - World Boxing Organization". World Boxing Organization. October 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2011.