Heavyweight

For other uses, see Heavyweight (disambiguation).

Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports.

Boxing

Boxers who weigh 200 pounds and over (14 st 3 lb, 90 kg) are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing Organization.

For most boxing organizations, the maximum weight for a cruiserweight is 200 pounds. Thus, a fighter whose weight is over 200 lb (14 st 3 lb, 90 kg) may not fight as anything but a heavyweight.

Joe Louis holds the record for most consecutive title defenses at this division, with 25 defenses of the Universal title. This is also the record for most consecutive title defenses in boxing history.

Historical development

Because this division had no weight limit, it has been historically vaguely defined. In the 19th century, for example, many heavyweight champions weighed 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less (although others weighed 200 pounds).

The first heavyweight champion under the Marquess of Queensberry rules was John L. Sullivan, known as "The Boston Strong Boy". He weighed around 200 pounds when in shape and was a bare-knuckle champion. He was defeated by Jim Corbett on September 7, 1892, in 21 rounds.

In 1920, the minimum weight for a heavyweight was set at 175 pounds (12 st 7 lb, 79 kg), which today is the light heavyweight division maximum. Since 1980, for most boxing organizations, the maximum weight for a cruiserweight has been 200 pounds.

Since the 1960s, the heavyweight title has become fractured amongst various sanctioning organizations, and so what was once known as the single "Heavyweight Champion", is now referred to as the "Undisputed Champion" as the one fighter that has defeated all the other titlists.

Professional champions

Main article: List of heavyweight boxing champions

Current champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA (Super)	April 29, 2017	Anthony Joshua	22–0 (21 KO)	3
WBA (Regular)		vacant
WBC	January 17, 2015	Deontay Wilder	40–0 (39 KO)	7
IBF	April 9, 2016	Anthony Joshua	22–0 (21 KO)	6
WBO	March 31, 2018	Anthony Joshua	22–0 (21 KO)	1
Lineal Champion	November 28, 2015	Tyson Fury	27–0 (19 KO)	2

Notable Current champions Outside the "BIG FOUR"

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
IBO	April 29, 2017	Anthony Joshua	22–0 (21 KO)	3

Current interim champions

Sanctioning Body	Reign Began	Champion	Record	Defenses
WBA	August 11, 2018	Trevor Bryan	20–0 (14 KO)	0

Longest reigns

Main article: Heavyweight boxing championship records and statistics

The WBO heavyweight title bouts before June, 1999 are not included

Longest combined heavyweight championship reigns

As of March 5, 2018. This list includes only major titles, and it does not include lineal championships after 1921.

Keys:

  Active title reign

  Reign has ended

	Name	Combined reign	Days as champion	Number of reigns	Title recognition	Cumulative title wins	Opponents beaten
1.	Wladimir Klitschko	12 years, 0 months, 0 days	4 382	2	IBF, WBA, WBO	25	23
2.	Joe Louis	11 years, 8 months, 8 days	4 270	1	NYSAC, NBA	26	21
3.	Muhammad Ali	9 years, 5 months, 5 days	3 443	3	NYSAC, WBC, WBA	22	21
4.	Lennox Lewis	8 years, 5 months, 13 days	3 086	3	WBC, IBF, WBA	15	15
5.	Vitali Klitschko	7 years, 5 months, 28 days	2 735	3	WBO, WBC	15	15
6.	Larry Holmes	7 years, 3 months, 12 days	2 661	1	WBC, IBF	20	20
7.	Jack Dempsey	7 years, 2 months, 19 days	2 638	1	NYSAC, NBA	6	6
8.	John L. Sullivan	7 years, 0 months, 10 days	2 566	1	Universal	5	5
9.	Jack Johnson	6 years, 3 months, 11 days	2 292	1	Universal	7	7
10.	Evander Holyfield	6 years, 1 month, 1 day	2 223	4	WBA, WBC, IBF	11	10
11.	James J. Jeffries	5 years, 11 months, 4 days	2 156	1	Universal	8	6
12.	Joe Frazier	4 years, 10 months, 18 days	1 785	1	NYSAC, WBA, WBC	10	10
13.	Floyd Patterson	4 years, 10 months, 0 days	1 765	2	NYSAC, NBA	8	7
14.	James J. Corbett	4 years, 6 months, 10 days	1 652	1	Universal	2	2
15.	Jess Willard	4 years, 2 months, 29 days	1 551	1	Universal	2	2
16.	Chris Byrd	3 years, 10 months, 22 days	1 421	2	IBF, WBO	5	5
17.	Mike Tyson	3 years, 10 months, 16 days	1 415	2	WBA, WBC, IBF	12	11
18.	John Ruiz	3 years, 9 months, 21 days	1 390	2	WBA	4	4
19.	Rocky Marciano	3 years, 7 months, 5 days	1 312	1	NYSAC, NBA	7	5
20.	Deontay Wilder	3 years, 2 months, 10 days	1 137	1	WBC	8	7

Longest individual heavyweight championship reigns

Below is a list of longest reigning heavyweight champions in boxing measured by the individual's longest reign. The list includes both The Ring and lineal championships.

Keys:

  Active title reign

  Reign has ended

	Name	Title Reign	Title Recognition	Successful Defenses	Opponents beaten
1.	Joe Louis	11 years, 8 months, 8 days	Universal	25	20
2.	Wladimir Klitschko	9 years, 7 months and 6 days	IBF (+WBA, WBO, The Ring)	18	17
3.	Larry Holmes	7 years, 3 months, 12 days	WBC-to-IBF (+The Ring/Lineal)	19	19
4.	Jack Dempsey	7 years, 2 months, 19 days	Universal	5	5
5.	John L. Sullivan	7 years, 0 months, 9 days	Universal	5	5
6.	Jack Johnson	6 years, 3 months, 10 days	Universal	8	8
7.	Muhammad Ali	5 years, 11 months, 9 days	The Ring/Lineal, (+WBA, WBC stripped)	9	9
8.	James J. Jeffries	5 years, 11 months, 4 days	Universal	7	6
9.	Vitali Klitschko	5 years, 2 months, 4 days	WBC	9	9
10.	Joe Frazier	4 years, 10 months, 18 days	NYSAC (+WBA, WBC)	9	9
11.	James J. Corbett	4 years, 6 months, 10 days	Universal	1	1
12.	Jess Willard	4 years, 2 months, 29 days	Universal	1	1
13.	Lennox Lewis	4 years, 2 months, 15 days	WBC (+IBF, WBA stripped, The Ring/Lineal)	9	8
14.	Rocky Marciano	3 years, 11 months, 29 days	Universal	6	5
15.	Deontay Wilder	9 years, 7 months, 2 weeks and 2 days	WBC	7	7
16.	Chris Byrd	3 years, 4 months, 8 days	IBF	4	4
17.	Mike Tyson	3 years, 2 months, 20 days	WBC (+WBA, IBF, The Ring/Lineal)	9	9
18.	George Foreman	3 years, 0 months, 17 days	Lineal (+WBA, IBF stripped)	2	2
19.	Evander Holyfield	3 years, 0 months, 4 days	WBA (+IBF)	4	4
20.	Tommy Burns	2 years, 10 months, 3 days	Universal	11	9

Kickboxing

• In kickboxing, a heavyweight fighter generally weighs between 88 kg (196 lb) and 100 kg (220 lb). The Fighters over 100 kg (220 lb) are considered super heavyweights.
• International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) Heavyweight (Pro & Amateur) 215.1 – 235 lb. or 97.8 – 106.8 kg.
• In Glory promotion, a heavyweight division is over 95 kg (209 lb) and no upper weight limit.

Mixed martial arts

Main article: Heavyweight (MMA)

The heavyweight division in MMA generally groups fighters between 205 and 265 lb (93 and 120 kg).

Heavyweight is also the title of a documentary film that documented the fight camp of Fabricio Werdum when he became the UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Professional wrestling

The term "world heavyweight" in modern wrestling generally refers to a champion wrestler who is seen as a prominent competitor, rather than an adherent to a particular weight class. The World Heavyweight Championship in wrestling is usually considered the main title in a given promotion. Prior to the wrestling industry publicly acknowledging the predetermined nature of the sport, a Heavyweight title was generally competed for by larger wrestlers while smaller wrestlers competed as (among other names and classifications) ""Junior Heavyweights" and "Light-Heavyweights".

Analogous uses

The word "heavyweight" is sometimes used in other fields (e.g. politics) to denote a person who is especially powerful or influential. In this context, "big beast" has a similar meaning. Other boxing analogies include "punching above his [their] weight" to denote a person or entity (e.g. a country) whose influence is arguably greater than his/its basic attributes would suggest.

External links

• Barry Hugman's Boxing