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List of current world boxing champions

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Since at least 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 division, a boxer's weight must not exceed the upper limit. Manny Pacquiao has won world championships in eight different weight divisions, more than any other boxer. The Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, held all five major titles in the heavyweight division; they were 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 also holds a title of one of the other three major sanctioning bodies in an equivalent weight division, 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 makes between five and ten successful defences, 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 division. More information about the WBC's titles including Silver, Diamond, Emeritus, Honorary and Supreme Champion can be read at the WBC article.

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. In its early years the WBO's titles were not widely recognized. By 2012 when the Japan Boxing Commission officially recognized the governing body, it had gained similar status to the other three major sanctioning bodies. 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]

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 division. Title belts ceased to be awarded in the 1990s, but the practice was resumed in 2002.[13] 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 division."[13] 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 No. 1 and 2 contenders
  • If the number 1 and 2 contenders chose not to fight each other, if either of them fights the No. 3, 4 or 5 contender, the winner may be awarded The Ring title belt if the Editorial Board deems the contenders worthy.[14]

The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board was formed in October 2012, after controversy emerged surrounding changes to The Ring's championship policy.[15]

Current champions

The current champions in each weight division 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
Tyson Fury
Unified champion
 United Kingdom
25–0–0–0 (18)
November 28, 2015 		Deontay Wilder
 United States
36–0–0–0 (35)
January 17, 2015 		Anthony Joshua
 United Kingdom
16–0–0–0 (16)
April 9, 2016 		Tyson Fury
 United Kingdom
25–0–0–0 (18)
November 28, 2015 		Tyson Fury
 United Kingdom
25–0–0–0 (18)
November 28, 2015
Lucas Browne
 Australia
24–0–0–0 (21)
March 5, 2016
Luis Ortiz
Interim champion
 Cuba
25–0–0–2 (22)
October 17, 2015

Cruiserweight, Junior heavyweight (200 lb, 90.7 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Denis Lebedev
 Russia
28–2–0–0 (21)
October 30, 2012 		vacant Victor Emilio Ramírez
 Argentina
22–2–1–1 (17)
September 21, 2015 		Krzysztof Głowacki
 Poland
26–0–0–0 (16)
August 14, 2015 		vacant
Beibut Shumenov
Interim champion
 Kazakhstan
16–2–0–0 (10)
July 25, 2015 		Grigory Drozd
In recess
 Russia
40–1–0–0 (28)
March 16, 2016

Light heavyweight (175 lb, 79.4 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Sergey Kovalev
Undisputed champion
 Russia
29–0–1–0 (26)
November 8, 2014 		Adonis Stevenson
 Canada
27–1–0–0 (22)
June 8, 2013 		Sergey Kovalev
 Russia
29–0–1–0 (26)
November 8, 2014 		Sergey Kovalev
Super champion
 Russia
29–0–1–0 (26)
January 16, 2015 		vacant
Jürgen Brähmer
 Germany
48–2–0–0 (35)
December 14, 2013
Félix Valera
Interim champion
 Dominican Republic
13–0–0–0 (12)
August 23, 2015

Super middleweight (168 lb, 76.2 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Felix Sturm
Super champion
 Germany
40–5–3–1 (18)
February 20, 2016 		Badou Jack
 Sweden
20–1–2–0 (12)
April 24, 2015 		James DeGale
 United Kingdom
23–1–0–0 (14)
May 23, 2015 		Gilberto Ramírez
 Mexico
34–0–0–0 (24)
April 9, 2016 		vacant
Giovanni De Carolis
 Italy
24–6–0–0 (12)
January 9, 2016

Middleweight (160 lb, 72.6 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Gennady Golovkin
Super champion
 Kazakhstan
35–0–0–0 (32)
June 3, 2014 		Saúl Álvarez
 Mexico
46–1–1–0 (32)
November 21, 2015 		Gennady Golovkin
 Kazakhstan
35–0–0–0 (32)
October 17, 2015 		Billy Joe Saunders
 United Kingdom
23–0–0–0 (12)
December 19, 2015 		Saúl Álvarez
 Mexico
46–1–1–0 (32)
November 21, 2015
Daniel Jacobs
 United States
31–1–0–0 (28)
August 9, 2014
Alfonso Blanco
Interim champion
 Venezuela
12–0–0–0 (5)
October 25, 2015 		Gennady Golovkin
Interim champion
 Kazakhstan
35–0–0–0 (32)
October 18, 2014

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

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Erislandy Lara
 Cuba
22–2–2–0 (13)
March 8, 2014 		vacant Jermall Charlo
 United States
23–0–0–0 (18)
September 12, 2015 		Liam Smith
 United Kingdom
22–0–1–0 (12)
October 10, 2015 		vacant
Jack Culcay
Interim champion
 Germany
22–1–0–0 (11)
May 9, 2015

Welterweight (147 lb, 66.7 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Keith Thurman
 United States
26–0–0–1 (22)
January 16, 2015 		Danny García
 United States
32–0–0–0 (18)
January 23, 2016 		Kell Brook
 United Kingdom
36–0–0–0 (25)
August 16, 2014 		Jessie Vargas
 United States
27–1–0–0 (10)
March 5, 2016 		vacant
David Avanesyan
Interim champion
 Russia
21–1–1–0 (11)
November 7, 2015

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

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
vacant Viktor Postol
 Ukraine
28–0–0–0 (12)
October 3, 2015 		Eduard Troyanovsky
 Russia
24–0–0–0 (21)
November 4, 2015 		Terence Crawford
 United States
28–0–0–0 (20)
April 18, 2015 		vacant

Lightweight (135 lb, 61.2 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Anthony Crolla
 United Kingdom
30–4–3–0 (12)
November 21, 2015 		vacant Rancés Barthelemy
 Cuba
24–0–0–1 (13)
December 18, 2015 		Terry Flanagan
 United Kingdom
30–0–0–0 (12)
July 11, 2015 		vacant
Ismael Barroso
Interim champion
 Venezuela
19–0–2–0 (18)
December 12, 2015

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

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Jezreel Corrales
Super champion
 Panama
20–1–0–1 (8)
April 27, 2016 		Francisco Vargas
 Mexico
23–0–1–0 (17)
November 21, 2015 		José Pedraza
 Puerto Rico
22–0–0–0 (12)
June 13, 2015 		Román Martínez
 Puerto Rico
29–2–3–0 (17)
April 11, 2015 		vacant
Javier Fortuna
 Dominican Republic
29–0–1–1 (21)
May 29, 2015 		Miguel Berchelt
Interim champion
 Mexico
29–1–0–0 (26)
March 12, 2016

Featherweight (126 lb, 57.2 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Léo Santa Cruz
Super champion
 Mexico
32–0–1–0 (18)
August 29, 2015 		Gary Russell Jr.
 United States
27–1–0–0 (16)
March 28, 2015 		Lee Selby
 United Kingdom
23–1–0–0 (8)
May 30, 2015 		Vasyl Lomachenko
 Ukraine
5–1–0–0 (3)
June 21, 2014 		vacant
Jesús Marcelo Andrés Cuellar
 Argentina
28–1–0–0 (21)
February 21, 2015
Carlos Zambrano
Interim champion
 Peru
26–0–0–0 (11)
March 28, 2015 		Óscar Escandón
Interim champion
 Colombia
25–2–0–0 (17)
March 5, 2016

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

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Guillermo Rigondeaux
In recess
 Cuba
16–0–0–0 (10)
October 30, 2015 		Hugo Ruiz
 Mexico
36–3–0–0 (32)
February 27, 2016 		vacant Nonito Donaire
 Philippines
37–3–0–0 (24)
December 11, 2015 		vacant
Moises Flores
Interim champion
 Mexico
24–0–0–1 (17)
April 18, 2015

Bantamweight (118 lb, 53.5 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Juan Carlos Payano
Undisputed champion
 Dominican Republic
17–0–0–0 (8)
September 26, 2014 		Shinsuke Yamanaka
 Japan
25–0–2–0 (17)
November 6, 2011 		Lee Haskins
 United Kingdom
32–3–0–0 (14)
November 20, 2015 		Pungluang Sor Singyu
 Thailand
52–3–0–0 (35)
August 7, 2015 		vacant
Jamie McDonnell
 United Kingdom
28–2–1–0 (13)
May 31, 2014
Zhanat Zhakiyanov
Interim champion
 Kazakhstan
26–1–0–0 (18)
November 7, 2015

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

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Kohei Kono
 Japan
32–8–1–0 (13)
March 26, 2014 		Carlos Cuadras
 Mexico
35–0–1–0 (27)
May 31, 2014 		McJoe Arroyo
 Puerto Rico
17–0–0–0 (8)
July 18, 2015 		Naoya Inoue
 Japan
9–0–0–0 (8)
December 30, 2014 		vacant
Luis Concepción
Interim champion
 Panama
34–4–0–0 (24)
September 19, 2015

Flyweight (112 lb, 50.8 kg)

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Juan Francisco Estrada
Unified champion
 Mexico
33–2–0–0 (24)
April 6, 2013 		Román González
 Nicaragua
45–0–0–0 (38)
September 5, 2014 		Amnat Ruenroeng
 Thailand
17–0–0–0 (5)
January 22, 2014 		Juan Francisco Estrada
 Mexico
33–2–0–0 (24)
April 6, 2013 		Román González
 Nicaragua
45–0–0–0 (38)
September 5, 2014
Kazuto Ioka
 Japan
19–1–0–0 (11)
April 22, 2015
Stamp Kiatniwat
Interim champion
 Thailand
15–0–0–0 (6)
July 29, 2015

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

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Ryoichi Taguchi
 Japan
24–2–1–0 (11)
December 31, 2014 		Ganigan López
 Mexico
27–6–0–0 (17)
March 4, 2016 		Akira Yaegashi
 Japan
23–5–0–0 (12)
December 29, 2015 		Donnie Nietes
Super champion
 Philippines
37–1–4–0 (21)
October 27, 2015 		Donnie Nietes
 Philippines
37–1–4–0 (21)
May 10, 2014
Randy Petalcorin
Interim champion
 Philippines
23–2–1–0 (18)
August 26, 2014

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

WBA WBC IBF WBO The Ring
Byron Rojas
 Nicaragua
17–2–3–1 (8)
March 19, 2016 		Wanheng Menayothin
 Thailand
41–0–0–0 (16)
November 6, 2014 		José Argumedo
 Mexico
16–3–1–0 (9)
December 31, 2015 		vacant vacant
Knockout CP Freshmart
Interim champion
 Thailand
12–0–0–0 (6)
October 1, 2014

See also

References

Specific
  1. ^ a b "Rules of World Boxing Association" (PDF). World Boxing Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2009. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; December 27, 2010 suggested (help)
  2. ^ "World Boxing Council Rules and Regulations" (PDF). World Boxing Council. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "IBF/USBA Rules Governing Championship Contests" (PDF). International Boxing Federation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  4. ^ "World Boxing Organization Regulations of World Championship Contests". World Boxing Organization. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
  5. ^ Lewis, Ron (October 13, 2008). "Vitali Klitschko impressive in comeback victory". The Times. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  6. ^ "World Boxing Association History". World Boxing Association. Retrieved March 2, 2009. Archived 2013-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "World Boxing Association Super Belt winners". World Boxing Association. Retrieved March 2, 2009. Archived 2013-09-04 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "World Boxing Council". World Boxing Council. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Rules that have changed the History of Boxing". World Boxing Council. Archived from the original on September 25, 2007. Retrieved September 30, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "WBO logo". World Boxing Organization. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  12. ^ "WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests" (PDF). World Boxing Organization. Section 14.
  13. ^ 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)
  14. ^ Kellerman, Max (January 22, 2004). "Gatti vs. the unknown". ESPN. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  15. ^ http://www.stiffjab.com/post/46981204175/espn-highlights-transnational-boxing-rankings-board
General
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