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 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.
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]
International Boxing Organisation
The International Boxing Organization was founded in 1988 and incorporated in Illinois in 1992 by John W. Daddono. The organization was later moved to Florida in 1996 and incorporated in Florida at that time. Ed Levine, who continues to serve as the organization's President became a partner and President of the IBO in 1999.
The organization received acclaim by implementing a computerized system in the late 1990s that removed subjective elements from the ratings in an effort to bring more credibility to the sport. Many marquee champions have held and continue to hold the International Boxing Organization World title.
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, 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,[13][14] but others do.[15][16] On December 8, 2012, Juan Manuel Márquez has been named "Fighter of the Decade" by the WBO and was awarded a special belt when beating Manny Pacquiao by KO within six rounds.
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.[17] 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."[17] 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 three ways that a fighter can win The Ring's title:
- Defeat the reigning champion
- Win a bout between The Ring's #1 and #2 contenders
- If the #1 and #2 contenders chose not to fight each other, if either of them fights the #3, #4 or #5 contender, the winner may be awarded The Ring title belt if the Editorial Board deems the contenders worthy.[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  Ukraine59–3–0–0 (50) July 2, 2011 |
Vitali Klitschko Ukraine 45–2–0–0 (41) October 11, 2008 |
Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine 59–3–0–0 (50) April 22, 2006 |
Wladimir Klitschko Super champion Ukraine59–3–0–0 (50) February 23, 2008 |
Wladimir Klitschko Ukraine 59–3–0–0 (50) June 20, 2009 |
Alexander Povetkin Russia25–0–0–0 (17) August 27, 2011 |
Cruiserweight, Junior heavyweight (200 lb, 90.7 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Denis Lebedev Russia 25–1–0–0 (19) October 30, 2012 |
Krzysztof Włodarczyk Poland47–2–1–0 (33) May 15, 2010 |
Yoan Pablo Hernández Germany27–1–0–0 (13) October 1, 2011 |
Marco Huck Germany 35–2–1–0 (25) August 29, 2009 |
Yoan Pablo Hernández Germany 27–1–0–0 (13) February 4, 2012 |
| Guillermo Jones In recess  Panama38–3–2–0 (30) October 30, 2012 |
Ola Afolabi Interim champion  United Kingdom19–2–4–0 (9) March 3, 2012 |
Light heavyweight (175 lb, 79.4 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Beibut Shumenov Kazakhstan13–1–0–0 (8) January 29, 2010 |
Chad Dawson United States31–2–0–2 (17) April 28, 2012 |
Tavoris Cloud United States 24–0–0–0 (19) August 28, 2009 |
Nathan Cleverly United Kingdom 25–0–0–0 (12) 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 States26–0–0–0 (14) November 21, 2009 |
Andre Ward United States 26–0–0–0 (14) December 17, 2011 |
Carl Froch United Kingdom 30–2–0–0 (22) May 26, 2012 |
Arthur Abraham Germany 36–3–0–0 (28) August 25, 2012 |
Andre Ward United States 26–0–0–0 (14) December 17, 2011 |
Mikkel Kessler Denmark46–2–0–0 (35) December 8, 2012 | ||||
| Stanyslav Kashtanov Interim champion Ukraine30–1–0–0 (16) November 10, 2012 |
Middleweight (160 lb, 72.6 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Gennady Golovkin Kazakhstan 25–0–0–0 (22) October 14, 2010 |
Sergio Gabriel Martínez Argentina50–2–2–0 (28) September 15, 2012 |
Daniel Geale Australia29–1–0–0 (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 |
| Martin Murray Interim champion United Kingdom25–0–1–0 (11) November 24, 2012 |
Super welterweight, Junior middleweight (154 lb, 69.9 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Floyd Mayweather Jr Super champion United States43–0–0–0 (26) May 5, 2012 |
Saúl Álvarez Mexico41–0–1–0 (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 26–0–0–0 (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 Argentina22–0–0–0 (18) July 21, 2012 |
Robert Guerrero Interim champion United States31–1–1–2 (18) July 28, 2012 |
Super lightweight, Junior welterweight (140 lb, 63.5 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Danny García Super champion United States25–0–0–0 (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 Mexico55–6–1–0 (40) June 9, 2012 |
Danny García United States 25–0–0–0 (16) July 14, 2012 |
| Khabib Allakhverdiev Russia 18–0–0–0 (8) November 30, 2012 |
Lucas Martín Matthysse Interim champion Argentina33–2–0–1 (31) September 8, 2012 |
Lightweight (135 lb, 61.2 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| vacant | Adrien Broner United States 25–0–0–0 (21) November 17, 2012 |
Miguel Vázquez Mexico 33–3–0–0 (13) August 14, 2010 |
Ricky Burns Scotland35–2–0–0 (10) January 26, 2012 |
vacant |
| Richard Abril Interim champion  Cuba17–3–1–0 (8) October 22, 2011 |
Super featherweight, Junior lightweight (130 lb, 59 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
Takashi Uchiyama Japan19–0–1–0 (16) January 11, 2010 |
Gamaliel Díaz Mexico 37–9–2–0 (17) October 27, 2012 |
Juan Carlos Salgado Mexico 26–1–1–1 (16) September 10, 2011 |
Román Martínez Puerto Rico26–1–2–0 (16) September 15, 2012 |
vacant |
| Yuriorkis Gamboa Interim champion Cuba22–0–0–0 (16) December 8, 2012 |
Featherweight (126 lb, 57.2 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Chris John Super champion  Indonesia48–0–2–0 (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 |
Miguel Ángel García United States 31–0–0–0 (26) January 19, 2013 | |
Nicholas Walters Jamaica22–0–0–0 (18) December 8, 2012 | ||||
| Javier Fortuna Interim champion  Dominican Republic21–0–0–1 (15) December 8, 2012 | ||||
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 |
vacant | vacant | Nonito Donaire Philippines31–1–0–0 (20) February 4, 2012 |
Nonito Donaire Philippines 31–1–0–0 (20) October 13, 2012 |
| Scott Quigg Interim champion United Kingdom25–0–1–0 (18) November 24, 2012 |
Bantamweight (118 lb, 53.5 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Anselmo Moreno Super champion Panama33–2–1–0 (12) November 16, 2010 |
Shinsuke Yamanaka Japan 17–0–2–0 (12) November 6, 2011 |
vacant | Pungluang Sor Singyu Thailand43–1–0–0 (28) October 20, 2012 |
vacant |
| Koki Kameda Japan 29–1–0–0 (17) December 26, 2010 |
Super flyweight, Junior bantamweight (115 lb, 52.2 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Kohei Kono Japan 28–7–0–0 (11) December 31, 2012 |
Yota Sato Japan 26–2–1–0 (12) March 27, 2012 |
Juan Carlos Sánchez Jr Mexico 15–1–1–0 (8) February 11, 2012 |
Omar Andrés Narváez Super champion Argentina38–1–2–0 (20) May 15, 2010 |
vacant |
| Liborio Solís Interim champion  Venezuela14–3–1–0 (7) December 10, 2011 |
Flyweight (112 lb, 50.8 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Brian Viloria Super champion United States32–3–0–2 (19) November 17, 2012 |
Toshiyuki Igarashi Japan 17–1–1–0 (10) July 16, 2012 |
Moruti Mthalane South Africa29–2–0–0 (20) November 20, 2009 |
Brian Viloria United States 32–3–0–2 (19) July 16, 2011 |
Toshiyuki Igarashi Japan 17–1–1–0 (10) July 16, 2012 |
| Juan Carlos Reveco Argentina 29–1–0–0 (16) December 4, 2012 |
Light flyweight, Junior flyweight (108 lb, 49 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Román González Super champion  Nicaragua34–0–0–0 (28) November 28, 2012 |
Adrián Hernández Mexico 26–2–1–0 (16) October 6, 2012 |
John Riel Casimero Philippines 17–2–0–0 (10) July 19, 2012 |
Donnie Nietes Philippines 31–1–3–0 (17) October 8, 2011 |
vacant |
| Kazuto Ioka Japan 11–0–0–0 (7) December 31, 2012 | ||||
| Alberto Rossel Interim champion  Peru29–8–0–1 (13) April 14, 2012 |
Minimumweight, Strawweight, Mini flyweight (105 lb, 47.6 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Ryo Miyazaki Japan 18–0–3–0 (10) December 31, 2012 |
Xiong Zhao Zhong China20–4–1–0 (11) November 24, 2012 |
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 Mexico26–3–0–0 (19) July 14, 2012 |
See also
References
- Specific
- ^ a b "Rules of World Boxing Association" (PDF). World Boxing Association. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "World Boxing Council Rules and Regulations" (PDF). World Boxing Council. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ "IBF/USBA RULES GOVERNING CHAMPIONSHIP CONTESTS" (PDF). International Boxing Federation. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
- ^ "World Boxing Organization Regulations of World Championship Contests". World Boxing Organization. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ Lewis, Ron (October 13, 2008). "Vitali Klitschko impressive in comeback victory". The Times. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
- ^ "World Boxing Association History". World Boxing Association. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "World Boxing Association Super Belt winners". World Boxing Association. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "World Boxing Council". World Boxing Council. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
- ^ "Rules that have changed the History of Boxing". World Boxing Council. Archived from the original on September 25, 2007. 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. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
- ^ "WBO logo". World Boxing Organization. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
- ^ "WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests" (PDF). World Boxing Organization. Section 14.
- ^ "Current Boxing Champions' Career Records". Sports Illustrated. March 22, 1998. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
- ^ "Current Boxing Champions". Yahoo!. December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
- ^ "Reigning Champions". ESPN Internet Ventures. January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
- ^ "List of Champions". BBC Sport. May 5, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
- ^ a b "About The Ring". The Ring. February 14, 2009. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Kellerman, Max (January 22, 2004). "Gatti vs. the unknown". ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- 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.